XiaoHua 1 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
ISSUE 16 | JUNE 2017
GSA Mental Health How can we help?
美國新任總統特朗普
是總統又怎樣？ NEW ELECTIVES Effective in 2018
CIS SPEAKS
How should students deal with the topic of student suicides?
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XiaoHua
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ISSUE 16 | JUNE 2017 Editor in Chief Natalie Lin News Editor Constance Lam
Reporters Katherine Wu, Hyning Gan, Phyllis Lam, Eugenia Chow, Raghav Goyal, Cindy Kim, Angelina Wang Features Editor Ethan Lam Reporters Japser Chan, Sabrina Ma, Brooke Foskey, Evelyn Howe, Bryan Cheng, Angelina Wang, Phoebe Chan, Justin Ngai, Katherine Wu, Sofia Chon, Nicole Yip, Gabriel Lee, Curtis Lo, Lynn Q-won Lee Sports Editor Isaac Um Reporters Justin Ngai, Kevin Ky, Indya Steains Chinese Editor Natalie Chak Reporters Becca Kwok, Venessa Lau, Hannah Guo, Chris Huang, Tippy Pei, Justin Ngai, Ciara Liu, Stephanie Wu, Angelina Wang Director of Layout Nicole Li Layout Designers Ben Chan, Gioia Cheung, Sheren Mao, Emma Lau, Phyllis Lam, Vanessa Chan, Katherine Ye Director of Photography Gabriel Lee Photographers Ryan Chiao, Chih Ning Kuo, Colin Huang, Xavier Banson, Ethan Lam, Gioia Cheung Director of Illustrations Toni Suen Illustrators Christina Shen, Kristen Wong, Brittany Au, Natalie Lin Director of Business Joseph Wan Director of Administration Angelina Wang
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C K T W
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CS Logistics Centre (Luen Fat Factory Building), 2-16 Lam Tin Street, Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong. Tel No.: (852) 2754 0638 Fax No.: (852) 2754 2234 Website: http://www.cargofe.com
Whatever we do, We do better than others – A Passion for Service XH16.indd 3
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CONTENTS
P 920 - 953
P 34 HAPPENINGS Happenings
Voices
New Cafeteria Opening
P10
School Yard: Community Service
P12
Beauty in the 21st Century
P14
College Quiz
P27
越少，越简，越全
P28
Dr. Lingers
P30
Are Phones Bad for our Health?
P16
Dr. Faunce Exit Interview
P18
上海香港麵家
P31
Mr. Alexander Exit Interview
P20
Teacher Diary: Edwin Tanner
P32
Head of the Pack
P22
Jokes Column
P33
Gender and Sexuality Alliance
P24
奔跑吧舞龍隊
P34
La La Land Review
P35
Scrabble: More Than Just a Game
P36
Kevin Quinn’s Favourites
P38
Overdrive
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Lifestyle
P26
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P 76 - 77 P 100 - 101 Features My Grandmother Thinks I’m Too Political
Editorial P40
The Rise of Esports
P43
Y11 New Electives
P46
Facebook in Decline
The State of Youtube
Sports P78
Chandler Kurtz
P98
P80
Players to Watch
P100
P82
A Guide to Hong Kong Hiking Trails
P102
Order of the Phoenix
P104
P84 P50 P86 P52 CV Hunter CIS Speaks
The CIS Water Polo Team P105 An Inquiry on Intelligence
P88
Roots and Shoots
P90
Games
Emotions in Rap
P92 4
Spot the Emoji
P106
P96
Fill in the School Song
P107
P54 P58
A Little Over-extrapolation P64 of Chinese History Mental Health
P68
Checkerboard Hill
P72 P75
Alumni Interview: Richard Ding
P108
P76
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Meet the editorial board.
WHAT MAKES ISSUE 16 SPECIAL? Gabriel Lee | Director of Photography With Issue 16, the photography was challenged with tackling complex issues such as mental health within Hong Kong, but also dealing with departures of key members of faculty. Being able to tell these stories through various photographs was both a challenge and an honor.
Isaac Um | Sports Editor This year, Xiaohua has introduced several new panels and columns along with the revamped ‘Athletes to Watch’. Hopefully this will encourage our student athletes to aim to be the best players in their respective sports! Go Xiaohua.
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Constance Lam | News Editor Issue 16 marks several milestones, including the much-anticipated return of Dr. Lingers, our favorite agony aunt. Like Dr. Lingers, Issue 16 is filled with wit and insight, and above all else, it listens to the myriad voices of the CIS community.
Joseph Wan | Director of Business Next year. Just you wait.
Frances Amos | Web Editor Over the past few months, the Xiao Hua bredren have worked with young writers in Hong Kong and Hangzhou to revive a website, get a snapchat and start to post, albeit sporadically, on social media. We are working towards school-wide participation on this one, so if you’re an aspiring Year 7 roadman, please find me and tell me.
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Ethan Lam | Features Editor
Natalie Chak | Chinese Editor The new Chinese section embodies the different opinions on both local and international politics shared by our students. For the first time in the history of Xiaohua, we also featured writings from our primary section, making Xiaohua a true representation of our student body.
Toni Suen | Director of Illustrations This years illustrations come from a group of talented students that form a visual collective, one that projects variety in the magazine’s true artistic form. We hope to identify creative individuals who seek an outlet for expressing their artistic talent, as well as students that hope to become a part of the Xiao Hua community.
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We’ve been improving the format of CIS Speaks, and introduced new mediums of conversation. An example of this is a discussion on “Learning Spaces in CIS”, a transcription of a face-to-face discussion between student Phoebe Chan and members of staff Mr. Svinhufvud and Dr. Varro. These new mediums should allow for more authentic and passionate communication between students and staff members in the future.
Nicole Li | Director of Layout This year, with the school’s generous support, our layout team was able to use Adobe InDesign to create better layouts that exceed the standards of past issues. We hope to continue to strive to improve, and make each issue better than the last. Enjoy issue 16!
Angelina Wang | Director of Administration Issue 16 is not only the culmination of a dedicated and bright group of individuals, but is also a medley of contributions from widespread young talent, including a local school student. Most importantly, it marks the turning point in the way we report and shed light on sensitive issues like mental health.
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Faculty Letter 一轉眼，我已在漢基工作十年，辦公室裡的一棵植物也已 經跟隨了我十年。當倪澤霆同學問我可否為《校話》寫 篇文章時，我不禁想到 “十年樹木，百年樹人”這句古 諺。它不但標示出長遠規劃在設定人才培育計劃上的關鍵 性，更彰顯出教育工作在人才培育執行過程中佔有何其不 可輕忽的份量。 漢基是一所國際學校，但與大多數國際學校相比，漢基明 顯地在各方面都獨樹一格 --- 中英雙語課程，實施雙語 課程的模式，獨一無二的校園文化，學生和教師團隊的穩 定性等等。漢基教師平均的工作年限接近十年，這在國際 學校中是相當罕見的。學生的流動率也不高。去年十三年 級畢業班中有40%的學生自四歲起入讀漢基學前班。十四 年來，他們在經驗豐富的教師引導下，在雙語、雙文化環 境的浸潤中，自IB課程中汲取養份。我們有幸能見證他們 成長，繼而目送他們在一條持續追求獨立思考、勇於創 新、具高尚情操、富悲憫心的人生大道上邁步前行。 十四年的教育在 “百年樹人” 的過程中雖然從數字上看 來比例不算高，但從一個四歲的幼兒到十八歲的法定成年 人，這十四年的教育在一個人的成長過程中起到了至關重 要的作用是無庸置疑的。 為確保這些 “樹苗” 健康成長以致日後成為有用之
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“材”，除了學生和教師的雙向努力之外，學校的領導團 隊也扮演著重要的角色。中學的安澤廷校長 (Mr. Justin Alexander) 在任八年期間，中學的學術水平得到持續提 升；方泰德校長 (Dr. Ted Faunce) 引領漢基十一年，藉 由其卓識遠見和獨特的領導能力，把漢基從一所良好的 學校提升為優秀的學校。無論是對積極心理學的引進和推 動，還是策劃新大樓的建設和落成，或是對各促長學生創 意項目的引導和支持，都為學生創造了更多使之能成為更 全面發展人才的機會和空間。《校話》的誕生和進展就是 一個典型的成功範例。 再過幾個星期，方校長和安校長就將離開漢基，繼續在他 們各自的人生旅程上前行。他們兩位在漢基留下的印記是 不可泯滅的，他們的離去對學校沒有影響是不可能的，但 穩定、優秀的教師團隊將繼續秉承漢基的辦學宗旨，在他 們協力建立的堅實、穩固的基礎上，一如既往地努力栽培 一棵棵“樹苗”，把他們培育成“參天大樹“。領導團隊 的更替從另一角度來看也是為學校帶來新的契機。相信身 為漢基大家庭的一員，不論是教師、職員、家長或學生， 都和我一樣，滿懷信心繼續為漢基的 “更上層樓”添磚 加瓦、營造新氣象。 副校長 李斌
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Editor’s Letter We did not know who he was nor why he committed suicide but we wanted to know, because he was one of us. Ingrained in our culture is the idea that local schools are suffocating “prison” and international schools are learning havens, where there is only “three [pieces of] homework a week” and gives plenty of time for “playing everyday,” as SCMP writes. His actions on the 17th of February, however, let us prove we needed help too, and no less than our local school counterparts. Frequently we hear about another student having to seek help, taking a sick leave or quitting CIS altogether. We don’t say anything because, ultimately, we have no solution; speaking without a solution is simply complaining, a confirmation of what we’re known as: spoilt and overprivileged. Staff want to help us speak up, but fear doing so sensationalises the topic and puts
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those already vulnerable at risk. As a community, we have to erase the negative connotations implied by speaking up and recognise there are constructive, beneficial ways of talking and reporting about sensitive topics. The editorial board is starting the dialogue around various issues at school because we believe in CIS. As Li Bin writes in her letter, CIS is a place for students to “成長”. The very fact that we can publish many of the articles in issue 16 is proof of allowing students to grow. We know there are people ready to listen. In issue 15 we were Rocking the Boat. As we say goodbye to many of our old facilities and teachers we are now at the Tipping Point, at a place for change. Natalie Lin
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New cafeteria opening Photography by Ryan Chiao I think the new cafeteria is a really great addition and upgrade to the school, and definitely offers a variety of good food and space for the students and teachers here at CIS to spend break and lunch times at. I like how the cafeteria is bigger than the previous one and includes several upgrades such as the cereal and salad bar, the self service ordering cashiers, and more chairs and tables. Even though I don’t often go to the cafeteria, I know that if I ever wanted to,new its new location is easily accessible and isand very convenient for for if I ever wanted to, the location of the it is easily assessable is very convenient everybody. By Jacqueline Lo (Y9)
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Habitat for Humanity
Health in Action
Hope Worldwide
Mission for Migrant Workers
One Inch Vertical
Po Leung Kuk
School Yard: Community Service Photographs courtesy of Shannon Ha
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Rotary
Music Children Foundation
Second Strings
Spastics Association Hong Kong
Student Global Leadership Institute
Support!
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Is Our Perception of Beauty Intrinsic or Shaped By External INFLUENCES? BY PHYLLIS LAM | PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIOIA CHEUNG Nowadays, we are constantly blinded by the advertisements and images flooding our newsfeeds and our billboards. Though we are told by family members and teachers that “true beauty” does not only refer to someone’s physical appearance, but also their personalities and interests, we tend to focus on the former without considering the character of a person. Sadly, being brought up in the world today, beauty is commonly limited to the physical appearance of a person and often misinterpreted as just a face or a figure. The renowned children’s book author, Roald Dahl, once wrote, “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” Indeed, many proponents of inner beauty believe that natural, powerful, authentic beauty originates from within the hearts of individuals. Inner beauty refers to one’s character and personality, as opposed to their physical appearance. One who is considered as beautiful is not necessarily beautiful in the eyes of another, as standards our beauty is subjective. When our
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perception of beauty is intrinsic, we believe that for one to be “beautiful” they should embody certain values, such as kindness, friendliness, generosity, humbleness, patience, and so on. If these qualities are nurtured with the help of family and friends, the person will be welcomed by peers and acquaintances as a beautiful person, both inside and out. With the vast development of technology, social media has become increasingly dominating on people’s daily lives. Living in the 21st century, everyday we come across several different billboards and advertisements, covered with supermodels, famous actors and popular singers. In many people’s eyes, they are the perfect and only standard of beauty. Our “herd mentality” is best exemplified by the countless images of heavily contoured faces, harshly outlined brows, and lips à la Kylie’s Lip Kit - all beauty trends which have dominated 2016 - on social media. Influenced to believe that all these brands and additional accessories would equip people with the qualities to be “beautiful”. As kids and even as adults, many believe that
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the Barbie dolls are examples of true beauty. However, all these thoughts that we have in our heads have actually been shaped by external elements, such as the media, our peers and plastic surgery. Barbie’s perfect eyebrows, large eyes, oval face, small waist, slim body, perky butt and shapely legs are often regarded as the most beautiful physical features one could have. The media has often misguided us to believe that being beautiful should be from the way your features and body looks. It is widely known that most Korean pop stars have undergone plastic surgery, in order to look “perfectly” beautiful. Many people seek the help of plastic surgeons to replace their features and figures, in order for them to look similar to the pictures they see of “beautiful” people online, even though they may be putting their own lives at risk. According to The Miami Herald, there have been 46 plastic surgery related deaths between 2000 and 2010 in Florida. People do not realise that all these changes are only short term as beauty is subjective. Furthermore, the standards of beauty are subjective
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to change. Therefore our perception of beauty does not only rely on nature, but as well as nurture - inherited and influences by outside factors. In fact, our perception of beauty can be a mixture of intrinsic and external factors. As time goes on, our definition of beauty can be changed and affected by society. During the Tang Dynasty, women perceived as beautiful were well built and curvy. In stark contrast, the “heroin chic” aesthetic of the 1990s lauds waif-like slimness and emaciated features, and has sparked controversy about the glamorization of drug use. Although social media can be a monolithic influence over most people’s idea of true beauty, nowadays many believe that one’s personality is more important than one’s outlook and is what they consider as truly beautiful, as can be seen from the rising number of users who promote self-help, body-positivity and mindfulness via social media. There is nothing wrong with trying to keep up with the latest beauty and fashion trends, or wanting to look like the models on your newsfeed, as long as your well being and your values are not compromised.
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ARE PHONES BAD In 2000, Murray Mitchell filed a lawsuit against Motorola on the basis that radiation emitted from Motorola’s phone caused his brain tumor. More than 30 similar cases have been filed over the past decade. Did Mr. Mitchell’s case prevail? Most of us know that phones emit radiation but others have doubts about how damaging the radiation is. Now before you lock your phone away, we have some important questions to answer. As phones have become inseparable necessities in our lives, they have conquered our attention, time and eyes. The further we fall into the “black hole” that our information rich phones provide us, the more we are exposed to possibly harmful health effects from using our phones. Have we so much as stopped to think about any health risks that using phones may pose?
The only physical health effect stems from the public misconception that by using phones, we are exposing ourselves to harmful radiation. However, this is not the case. Yes, phones do emit radiofrequency (RF) signals which release Electromagnetic fields (EMF). But according to the Centre for Health Protection at the Hong Kong government’s Department of Health, these EMFs are of low energy so they cannot harm us internally. The heat produced from our phones is absorbed through our skin and regulated so there is no increase in body tm, so there is no conclusive evidence that heat from phones causes any health effects. In contrast, the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer suggests that there could be a link between EMF radiation and head cancers. The science involved is not very clear because very few studies have looked into the issue, so it is hard to say for certain whether radiation emitted from our phones poses any risks. Regardless of whether phones are harmful or not, the only course of action is to use our phones less.
On the other hand, there are social health problems that arise from phone usage. These include sore eyes, loss of human interaction and pain in joints. If you stare at your mobile screen for too long, you don’t blink enough and your eyes consequently become dry. A solution to this is to look away for a few minutes and blink a few times. Additionally phones emit blue light, which makes it hard to sleep as blue light is intense in the eyes and make them stay alert. With social media apps such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and the like, we are spending
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FOR OUR HEALTH?
By Goyal By:Raghav Ragav Goyal Photography by Chih Ning Kuo
more time looking through flat screens and less time talking to people in person. Finally, as we tap through screens on our phones we are prone to folding our fingers and using small movements to tap with different speeds. This puts unnecessary stress on our finger joints, thus resulting in pain. As we look down to see our phones, neck joints experience a large amount of stress as we hang our heads down in the same position for a very long time. The severity of these cases depends on our habits, and is ultimately determined by how much time we spend on our phones.
health issues, the bottom line is to minimise phone usage. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Solutions 1) Eye Care: Filtering Blue Light Turn on the “Night-Shift” feature on your iP iphone by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and tapping the “Night-Shift” button, or install the “Twilight” app on your android device. These features/apps limit the range of blue colors in the RGB spectrum that are displayed on your phone, giving the screen a yellow hue. Yellow light, which is a warm color, is more gentle on the eyes than blue light, helping you fall asleep more easily.
2) Using Bluetooth Microphones To avoid any possible exposure to radiation, use bluetooth microphones when calling others. Many bluetooth/wireless earphones and headphones on the market have built in microphones
The question of whether phone radiation is harmful or not is a murky one to answer. With no evidence to support any claims, our current Scientific understands ing of phone radiation is of little help. The Murray case has still not been resolved and will carry down to following generations. Will the Murray case ever be resolved? Will we one day figure out the effect of exposure to phone radiation? Well, one thing’s for sure. No matter whether you see verity in the risk of phone radiation on our health or are a believer of the social
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INTERVIEW WITH
DR. FAUNCE By Catherine Wang Photography by Gabriel Lee
You’ve been at CIS for eleven years now. There’s certainly a great degree of mobility in the field of education, in that it’s easy for teachers or administrators to switch from school to school. What kept you at CIS for so long?
So I did teaching before the doctoral program, and that program was to go in depth into literature and literary scholarship. I went from teaching in a college undergraduate environment to teaching at a secondary school outside Washington DC. Unlike some colleagues, I never set out to be on an administrative track. It was always a year-by-year process, trying to do a good job and taking on new responsibilities. Ever since I left that school in Washington DC, I’ve been given so many growth opportunities, leading up to CIS.
That’s a good observation, especially in the so-called international school world, where there tends to be a very transient population. My answer to that is I have always aspired to take root in the local culture and population that lies within and beneath a school, and you can’t do that if you you’re in place for only a few years. When I came here and said at the first ‘Welcome Back’ cocktail at the Hong Kong Club that I would be staying for a decade, nobody believed me, simply because no headmaster had been here that long.
Jumping back a bit to your career history: It’s a well-known fact that you have a degree in medieval French. I was curious about how you made that leap from the study of literature to school administration. It really started with the decision to go into teaching. The roots of that were when I was 19, having a great summer between two years of university, wanting to learn Spanish, and having my first job teaching English and French on the mountains of Peru. I encourage you and your classmates to use your summers to try adventurous things. I still keep that particular summer on my one-page CV simply because it was a foundational year for me.
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I think it’s interesting how, with your roots in education, that recently you’ve been appointed on the board of chairs for the Hong Kong X Tech. How did that come about? I’m led to believe that in recent years we’ve come to be known as an innovative, risk-taking kind of institution, through the creation of Hangzhou or our vision for a new ‘STEAM’ tower. As I said in the opening of the new cafeteria, we’re just trying to lift the quality of what’s on the plate here - to extend that metaphor in teaching, we’re learning to color a little bit outside the lines of the taught curriculum to connect with the interests of the students.
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19 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 So [the appointment] was nothing to do with scientific or technical knowledge on my part, but as a leader of a school that is trying to push the perceived wall between school and non-school, learning and non-learning. This is what Hong Kong X is trying to do at an industry and university level. CIS is that link to the same movements in the secondary level.
not making mistakes. I haven’t ever written or published a book, but I thought that if I do, the title would be ‘In Praise of Error’. Not ‘In Praise of Folly - that’s okay, Erasthmus - but ‘In Praise of Error’, which goes back to the Latin roots of error: ‘errare’, or ‘to wander’.
on In recent years CIS has definitely focused been STEAM. Would you say that this shift constitutes your main achievement as headmaster? Good question, but it’s for other people to judge. As I’ve been preparing to leave CIS for the past couple of years, I’ve felt very strongly about setting in motion change, not only through the completion of the new building, but through how we think about the students’ lives and opportunities here in Hong Kong - to create substantial momentum, to show for what we were trying to do in the area of social and entrepreneurial engagement. I feel that, strategically, such change is critical for CIS’ competitive advantage because we sit here in Hong Kong, a goldmine of human capital. We have to make the most of who we are and where we are. We will never have as many tennis courts as Phillips Exeter, but I think we have been able and are able to do certain things better, and that’s what we’re going to have to do. I noticed the plaque on your desk that reads ‘Always Make New Mistakes’ - is that your credo? Yes, it’s the only piece of wisdom here in the office. I picked it up from someone else, but I think it’s pretty profound because [in the phrase] you obviously have the willingness to fail. I know this may sound cliched, but we live in a context that does value perfection, or in a greater Chinese culture that values virtuosity and
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You’ve established what is now a comingof-age custom here at CIS - under your guidance, Year 7s write aspirational letters to their Year 13 selves, and then six years later, write a self-reflection at the end of Year 13. You read all of them, and then send them back to the students upon graduation. I’m curious - what’s in your aspirational letter to your future self? To continue to embody this thing called lifelong learning. I have a few things lined up professionally for next year, and I hope they keep me about half-time in this part of the world and in the broader world of education. I view the next steps for me, frankly, as my continuing education. There’s a kind of rejuvenation that comes with that aspiration of having a new mind approaching everything, and somehow being able to carry along many years of experience while having that freshness. As the years go by, I hope to resist having a contracting universe, but rather, an expanding universe.
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INTERVIEW WITH MR. ALEXANDER By Catherine Wang Photography by Gabriel Lee You’ve lived in so many places around the globe, ranging from China to Tanzania, and you’ve been here in Hong Kong for the past eight years. Would you say Hong Kong is your home? As a family, since my wife Kellie and my two girls Imogen and Darcy are in this school as well, we would certainly consider CIS and Hong Kong to be our home. We feel very comfortable here
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both working-wise, but also in our blood, in general. Professionally, do you find it funny to have your entire family working in the same school environment? With Mrs. Alexander and myself both being educators, and both being in education, when we first moved to Shanghai we were working in the same
school together. In fact, when we were in Australia we were working in the same school as well. So, we’ve always been together in the schools we’ve taught in - the natural progression is with children, and since we work in wonderful schools, we want our children to be in the same schools as well. When we were looking for positions overseas, out of Australia, one of our motivations was our children: for
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them to have the same opportunities that the kids in our schools were having. Whilst sometimes it does seem a bit strange, for us at a family it’s a natural thing because it’s always been the case. That, and from visiting your CIS apartment once for an Order of the Phoenix lunch, your two pet cats. Well, they don’t come to school with us, but they certainly count. One of them in particular is very big and fluffy. What’s one moment from your eight years at CIS that impacted you, in either a positive or negative way? I think I’ll always remember my first graduation, as it was my first opportunity to wish a group of students all the best. I might say the same for the upcoming graduation that’s to happen in a couple of months, since it will be the last graduation that I attend here at CIS. Another moment is to do with the development of the CIS Hangzhou campus. The experience, if we were talking about a moment, is specifically when we opened the Hangzhou campus at the start of the 2013 school year. That experience of seeing the project come into fruition - seeing the students in the classrooms, the buildings in place is a moment that I will remember for a long time. Aware of the tremendous quantity of work you put into making sure that our school continues to run as smoothly as it does. What are some of the values behind your work?
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That would be: ‘is this good for students?’ Sometimes we can get caught up in the details of running a school, or organizing things, and every now and then I have to step back and think: Is this good for students and for student learning? Is this policy that we’re making going to be good for the student body? That’s the idea that I try to carry - for me, it’s an underlying philosophy that I have when we make decisions in the school. There are certainly some parallels between running a school and running a company - which would you think is more the case for CIS: high paced professional, or familial? I think Hong Kong itself is a very business-oriented, high-paced, and professional place, and so on the professional side it’s definitely true. On the other hand, I think as an educator it is important to slow down and consider relationships with parents and teachers, rather than simply foster a corporate mentality of ‘this has to happen’, and ‘I don’t care about the outcome of each action, I just want to make sure profit-loss balance is not in the red’. In this school, there is this element of family that you don’t get in an office. That being said, Hong Kong is indeed a fast-paced city, and our parents are very interested in their children’s educations. I’d like to end on a funny question. We always have fire drills here in CIS - hypothetically, if one was to take place, and this office was on fire, assuming you could get out safely, what would would you take with you?
daughters] Imogen and Darcy - photos from a long time ago. This is what I would take when I walk out the door. Essentially everything else is on a computer somewhere, on a drive, that I can find. Now to extend that analogy of taking away things. Of course, CIS isn’t a burning building, but the sentiment of leaving is similar. What will you be taking from your eight years at CIS? Gee, that’s a very well-thought-out question there. It’s true that you take experiences, or memories of yours, with you, and I would say that some of the memories for me would be the mixture of the wonderful kids that we’ve observed growing up as individuals. I’m not talking about one student in particular, but in general, of all the students growing from Year 7 and being amazing across the board. I will also remember the experience and expertise of the faculty, working up on this hill - this distance, near the city but not too far away - and the fact this school has continued to grow significantly over the last ten years in many different fields, with different facilities and an increased role of technology in learning. I think that, with all of these things, CIS is a school that respects its traditions and past but looks ahead. I believe in the importance of making the most of opportunities - I’m really glad to have had the chance to provide more opportunities to students through their journeys in Secondary School. For me, I’m proud of that. Wherever I go next, I’m on the lookout for opportunities for kids, and how to best support them.
I actually have two things in mind. They just happen to be photos of [my
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22 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
A Head of The Pack
Interview with Head Boy and Head Girl By Angelina Wang | Photography by Ryan Chiao
I was before”– and I think that is something that requires initiative and drive. The people at CIS are phenomenal; you have artists, writers, scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, activists, all kinds of people from different walks of life, who all have something that is incredibly unique and amazing about them. It doesn’t matter how good their grades are, or how popular they are at school. I think what that shows is that everything comes down to your willingness to work, and keep at something beyond discouragements, and beyond initial frustrations that may be others’ reasons to quit on their dreams.
Head Girl: Sophie Li 我覺得當做學生的代表是一個很重要的任務。首先，能夠 有權力是改進學校的某一些方面，還是可以把學生的意見 和看法表達給上面的老師，而且把老師的意見和看法再傳 給學生的話，這種兩方面的關係是一種應該可以爭取的機 會和一個很榮幸的機會，所以我選擇試一下自己能不能 做。
為全校集會上的發言準備時，我們說的肉麻的俏皮有太多 了。我們一般寫稿子的時候，就會想我們大概想表達出來 的意思。比如說，要是聖誕節的話，想表達出一種團結慶 祝輕鬆的精神。而且，要是寫笑話時，老實說有一些是從 網上找到的。但中國的節日，比如端午節、農曆新年、類 似的節日網上比較難找到笑話。另一個方面，我平常日常 生活中會開笑話，所以自己創造的笑話有時也會說出來。 它們幽默不幽默是另一件事情！那是讓全校決定的。 我最喜歡的笑話是中秋節稿子的笑話，講嫦娥在月亮上的 活動，自己編的笑話。用英文說大概是:
“The lady on the moon’s restaurant isn’t a great place to be– because of its lack of atmosphere!” How long have you been in CIS? What is one thing that you will be taking away from your years here? I’ve been at CIS for seven years. The one thing that sticks out among the many as I graduate, is that everything that you want, you have to work for. Obviously there are support systems, and they’re an invaluable part of the CIS community in general, but above everything, if you want something, you have to be the person that goes for it. So that whether that’s starting CCAs, whether that’s coming up with projects, or whether that’s just self-improvement, you can say after everyday “I am a better version of myself than
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Conversely, what is one thing you would like to leave behind? What is your legacy? Well, I have a plaque on the Gratitude Wall! I think one thing that would be good to leave behind is knowing where we stand in the world. We often hear about the ‘CIS Bubble’– which is a justified concern, because with different levels of income and class, it’s very easy to fall out of touch with the rest of the world when in our minute percentage of the upper class. I think that means that, to be living in a way that is thoughtful of your place in the world and is considerate of everyone around you, requires understanding we have relevant problems, that shouldn’t be trivialized or delegitimized. But at the end of the day, one of the ways I found most useful getting over problems, like exam struggles or school pressure or general feelings of inadequacy, is the idea that my problems are an incredible luck of fortune in the first place. The fact that I have these problems is not that big of a problem. The one thing I’d like to leave behind is that, because we have this outlook and position in life, we have certain responsibilities to be kind, to be thoughtful, to be empathetic and be willing to know more than what is our little corner of the world. Because I think to have to have a self-centred insular existence is so much less than what you can have, and it’s so much more rewarding and worthy to have an existence at its best, in looking past the immediate confines of our surroundings and into global issues, global concerns, and ways in which you can meaningfully engage with others. Is there anything else you would like to add? At the end of the day, we are so obsessed over an immediate failure, whereas in the scheme of things, people have gotten over worse things than this. If other people can do it, we can too! There’s nothing innately that holds you back from achieving what other people can. Enjoy life!
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23 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 Head Boy: John Yap What made you want to be Head Boy? The role of being head boy isn’t normally something you think about beforehand, because you can’t really prepare or try for it, you get nominated. For me, it just came. I just thought, “I can play a role in forwarding what students want and giving them a voice.” How do you two come up with the puns for each assembly, and what has been your favorite, or most cringe-worthy one? Making the puns for our assemblies always begin around 10 pm the night before. We always try to wrap up around 12 am but we always end up going until around 2 am, because it’s a lot of work. Oftentimes it involves trolling Google for many hours and it takes longer than you think. My most cringeworthy pun was one that we had to improv. It was the Christmas assembly, and we were running short on time, so we were told to tell more jokes. So, we asked, “What do you call a spy hiding in a bakery?” “A mince spy!” That one made even me gag! What do you think are the misconceptions about being Head Boy and Girl, and if there are any, how would you address them? The first misconception we tried to fix this year is that Head Boy and Girl are just ‘glorified announcers’. What we tried to say is that the Head Boy and Girl positions are only what the student body makes of it. There are no formal powers, it’s not as structured or rigidified; but rather, we tried to insert ourselves into situations that mattered. For example, we created CIS Speaks, a direct channel of communication between the student body and teachers to express their opinions regarding school life. Another misconception people have is that the Head Boy and Girl positions are ‘awesome’ for your university prospects. From my experience, it didn’t matter in the UK, and having the right perspective to do it because you are intrinsically
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interested in playing this role is impor- culture in the sense that it gets us in tant– not just to look for the ‘candies’ shape; we study hard and we work well. that come at the end. So my main takeaway from my years here, is that we’ve gone through all this When you first entered your role as together through many different ways Head Boy, did you have any self-imof coping. Even though CIS is tense, it’s posed expectations? How did you tackle stressed, we make up for it by making these? good friendships. We make up for it by For sure, I imposed expectations on learning how to treat each other sensimyself. Because I wasn’t planning for tively. And I think that’s the thing to Head Boy, when I saw the nomination take away, that even though it’s a highlist, I saw the other people, my friends, stress environment, we have learned classmates, and I thought, “Geez, these ways to work with each other, to grow people really deserve this role as well.” in ways that are healthy. So for the first few weeks it was challenging to come to terms with the fact Conversely, what is one thing you would that the role of Head Boy was placed on like to leave behind? What is your me, and this is something I’m responsi- legacy? ble for now. I felt the need to make the Since running for Student Council in most of this role. This motivation from Year 12, I think that the student body the start helped me make sure I didn’t has a very strong latent potential for bejust sit around the title, and instead in- ing involved in school positions and inject myself into playing a role in student itiatives, in taking the school where stuissues. dents want it to go. That’s oftentimes not realized enough, and the student What has been your proudest achieve- body sets self-imposed caps on what ment, within or outside of school? is possible. The way we think student The thing is, achievements mean less representation and leadership works at than what people think. I don’t like to CIS is that there is no formal power. We think I have some achievement behind think we can’t go up to teachers and say me, I like to think that something things like “We want this.” and “This ahead is going to be better. I think is in our Constitutional power.” But having friends and people who support really, it’s all about being flexible, and you is much more important that just trying our best. What Sophie and I have being celebrated for what you have tried to do this year is make student done. When it comes to the real thing, representation more credible, as seen whether people know you as a person, with our work involving Senior Student whether they appreciate you for your Committee on student wellbeing. Of personal qualities, matters much more course we weren’t able to do everything than what you have done. So for me, we would have liked to accomplish, but there is no proudest achievement that I we tried to take the first step in getting will lift up as the one thing I’m proud people to have more confidence that the of in my life– it’s just generally having student body can have influence, and to good friends and people that appreciate exert that power. So finally, it’s very imand care about me. portant to me that the next Head Boy and Girl, and the next Student Council How long have you been in CIS? What can continue working pragmatically is one thing that you will be taking within the interesting system at CIS, away from your years here? to continue making student voices be This is my seventh year at CIS. CIS has heard. a very interesting culture. We place a lot of emphasis on ourselves to work very hard. As a corollary from that, it’s high-stress. It’s competitive. It’s a good
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24 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) By Cindy Kim
Founded in October 2016, the Gender-Sexuality Alliance (more commonly known as the Gay - Straight Alliance), is a student-led club at CIS which promotes equal acceptance to all students regardless of their sexual orientation and provides a safe and confidential place for students to meet and talk about issues related to gender identity and expression. According to the GSA, their three goals are to raise awareness within the school about LGBTQ+ issues by starting a conversation on issues such as intersectionality and microaggressions; to provide a safe space and network for LGBTQ+ or questioning students to express themselves openly and seek advice; and finally, to increase tolerance and acceptance for LGBTQ+ individuals within the wider CIS and Hong Kong community. As a member of the GSA states, “The GSA isn’t a group that wishes to force a homogenized ideology on the wider community, but a group that wishes to educate and raise awareness on important LGBT issues in a judgement free-area.” Unlike the Gay-Straight Alliance (which is more prevalent in high/middle schools around the world), the Gender-Sexuality Alliance reaches out to not only to those who may be homosexual or straight, but is also
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inclusive of students of other sexual orientations. To fulfill their goals of proliferating an inclusive atmosphere within CIS, the group has actively arranged various activities related to LGBTQ+ issues such as organising a screening of Moonlight, an American coming-of-age film that explores the difficulties of a man with his own sexuality and identity, as well as have started to arrange talks that allow students to freely discuss their opinions on LGBTQ+ issues without judgement from other students or teachers. According to one of the GSA members, the GSA is “starting a T shirt initiative for both teachers and students, to show closeted LGBTQ+ students that they are allies”, and hope to start discussions, special events, and advocacy events in the near future. To be involved in the GSA, meetings happen every Tuesday lunch in room (311) (near the entrance to the Senior Student Center). They also have a Facebook page (https:// www.facebook.com/cisgsa/) as well as a google form that can be filled anonymously in case anyone has questions or comments they would like to make (http://gsa.cis.edu.hk/).
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25 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GSA:
Why did you decide to join the GSA? I’ve always been passionate about issues surrounding sexuality - in Y11 my PP was to make lesson plans that would educate Y8s about gender and sexuality - because it’s never made sense to me that we should hate someone based on who they love. I realised that by joining the GSA, my efforts could possibly further change the CIS community for the better. What do you normally do during meetings? Can anyone join? Since the GSA is relatively new, we are working on initiatives and developing public discussions, which we hope to hold on a biweekly basis. Anyone can participate in these discussions, but for leadership, we’ll be a bit more stringent on that front. What are some of the things you love about the GSA? The GSA gives us an opportunity to discuss issues important to us in a judgement-free area. What do you hope/plan in achieving in the near future? We’re starting a T shirt initiative for both teachers and students, to show closeted LGBTQ+ students that they are allies. We hope to start discussions, special events, and advocacy events as well.
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What changes do you hope to make within the CIS com munity / the GSA? I hope that now that there’s a GSA, there’ll be more tolerance within the CIS community, especially with parents, because increasing acceptance from family members is so important for LGBTQ+ youth. I hope that this will lead to less stigmatization/taboo surrounding issues regarding gender and seualtiy. Anything you would like the CIS community to know about? Although it may seem redundant to have a GSA in CIS, there is still a level of discomfort and a lack of education within the CIS and wider HK community when these issues crop up. The GSA isn’t a group that wishes to force a homogenized ideology on the wider community.
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26 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
OVERDRIVE: HOW TO USE IT BY RAGHAV GOYAL ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTEN WONG
Overdrive is an ebook and audiobook borrowing service that our school library uses. It allows you to borrow a maximum of two materials at a time for about two weeks each. Overdrive makes engaging with literary content much easier and much more convenient, as there are both online and mobile platforms. Therefore books are with us wherever we go, making reading more pervasive in our everyday lives. Accessing Overdrive on your Computer: Step 1 Sign in to the CIS Library OverDrive site using your Moongate username and password. Step 2 Once you enter the website you will see a list of the most borrowed books at school. You can search for books using the “Subjects” tab that organises books under genres, the “Collections” tab that organises books under “Recent Releases”, “Newly Added” and more and the “Levels” tab which organises books in terms of reading ability and interest levels. Step 3 Browse and borrow titles. Hover your cursor on any book to view options to “Borrow” or Read/Listen to a “Sample”. Additionally, if you click on the “more” icon you will be taken to the main page for the book where more details can be found: Accessing Overdrive on your Devices:
Step 1 The OverDrive app is available for both iOS and Android devices. Install the OverDrive app on your device from either the App store or the Google Play store.
icon in the top left hand corner or slide the screen from the left to the right in order to open the sidebar drop down menu.
Step 3 In the drop down menu, under “MY LIBRARIES” tap on “Add a library”.
Step 4 In the search field type “Chinese International School”. Click on the “Search” button and navigate to the “Chinese International School” library system.
Step 5 Sign in to the CIS OverDrive page using your Moongate username and password.
Step 6 Once you enter the web page you will see a list of the most borrowed books at school. Tap on the three dash icon on the menu bar. From here you can search for books using the “Subjects” tab that organises books under genres, the “Collections” tab that organises books under “Recent Releases”, “Newly Added” and more and the “Levels” tab which organises books in terms of reading ability and interest levels.
Step 7 Browse and borrow titles. Hover your cursor on any book to view options to “Borrow” or Read/Listen to a “Sample”. Additionally, if you click on the “more” icon you will be taken to the main page for the book where more details can be found:
Step 2 After downloading the app, open it and tap the three dash
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Quiz: U.K. / US / CANADA / OTHER
27 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
By: Flora Xiao | Illustration by Kristen Wong
1. Have you decided on what you want to study? a) Yes! I know for sure I want to do ____. b) I have a few majors in mind, but I’d like the chance to explore these options first. c) I have no idea. 2. What kind of curriculum attracts you more? a) Taking only classes relevant to my major and maybe a few electives. b) Mostly classes I am interested in with a few general courses such as math, writing, language etc. c) A broad range of subjects that can give me an idea of what each field is like. 3. How do you like your grades calculated? a) I prefer taking exams at the end of the term that determine my final grade. b) I like being assessed on different types of activities, e.g. presentations, written assignments, quizzes. c) I don’t like grades. 4. Are you interested in studying Law or Medicine? a) Yes, and I am sure I want to study law/medicine at university. b) It’s a possibility I am considering, but I am also looking into other majors. c) Law and Medicine are boring, but my parents want me to be a lawyer/doctor. 5. How do you feel about student loans? a) I don’t want to be paying back debts until I am 30. b) I think it will be manageable. c) This isn’t one of my concerns. 6. How involved are you in extracurriculars? a) I usually commit to one or two activities but focus more
on academics. b) I am involved with several clubs, most of them out of interest and not for the CV. c) I participate in as many activities as I can because I like trying new things. d) I do everything for the CV. 7. Do you like the idea of living in dorms? a) I’d like to move out as soon as possible please. b) Sure, I wouldn’t mind trying it out or joining a sorority/ fraternity. c) I have been waiting to live with roommates for so long! I love the sense of community! 8. Do you play sports? a) I’m not that interested in sports, or I only play recreationally. b) I wouldn’t mind playing a sport I enjoy weekly. c) I am very involved in sports and it is a big part of my life. 9. How much are you really willing to contribute to the school as an alumni? a) University is just a place to learn, I will contribute if I feel like it in 10 years. b) I wouldn’t mind attending reunions every now and then, after all we are like a big family. c) I want to participate in alumni events regularly, I will remain dedicated to my school. 10. How long do you plan on staying in school for? a) I want to get my degree as soon as possible and move onto what I want to do. b) College is a time for me to enjoy, no need to rush through it. c) I don’t really mind if it takes longer to complete my degree, I have plenty of time.
Results: If you got mostly As, you are more suited to attend university in the UK or here in Hong Kong! It means you are focused and prudent: you already know what you want to do and have plans for the future. There’s no need to be set on everything though, give yourself a little room to explore some other options during your last few years in high school to make sure it is what you really want! If you got mostly Bs, you should consider applying to universities in Canada or Australia. Universities in these two places tend to give students more time to decide on what to study, as long as they have a general direction. Most students feel that they have a good work-life balance, and school isn’t too stressful in these places. Alternatively, you can apply to American colleges, but their systems tend to be a lot looser, so you might not get the sense of certainty there. If you got mostly Cs, you will fit right in in American universities. These institutions, especially liberal arts colleges, provide enough time and resources for students to pursue a wide range of interests before deciding on a course of study. Sometimes, people only declare their major in the second last year of university! However, it is important to note that most schools have a very active social climate and strong sense of community, and that grades aren’t everything.
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28 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
越少，越简，越全
--- 浅析中国当代建筑设计和国画留白艺术的关系
BY BECCA KWOK | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BECCA KWOK
中式设计之道， 何以为至高之境界？ 正所谓： 大音希声， 大象希形， 古道崇简， 于象于形， 于情于景。 如果把中式设计文化 看作为一幅巨幅的泼墨山水， 那么这幅山水画最为出彩、最为精髓之处 莫过于空间的留白之美。 留白就是以”空白”为载体， 进而渲染出美的意境的艺术。 讲究一种简单、安闲的理念。
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留白是国画艺术中的精髓，体现虚实相生，无画处皆成妙 境的艺术效果。它可以拓宽空间的层次布局，给人留下遐 想的余地，更强调了艺术意境的营造。似乎感觉什么都不 用画，就可以让欣赏者在自我构架的想象中任意驰骋，激 发审美经验，使“无中生有”深化到一个新的高度。将留 白手法运用在中式建筑的设计中，则减少了空间扑面而来 的压抑感，并将观者的视线顺利转移到被留白包围的元素 上，巧妙的突出了重点之处从而彰显了整个空间的审美价 值。 中国国画大师齐白石笔下的虾，徐悲鸿大师笔下的马，即 使用的是最为简单的黑白灰三色，深浅不一的黑灰，力道 不同的笔锋都在大面积的留白中衬托出来。国画中的留 白，是一幅作品的灵魂，没有了这一片白，就好像失去了 灵魂的躯壳一般。
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29 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
宋朝马远的《寒江独钓图》，画中只有一叶小 舟，一位孤独的渔翁在垂钓寂寞。整幅画除此 不着一墨，全是空白。虽然如此，但却让人感 到烟波浩渺，满幅皆水，这种留置空白的绘画 技巧，就是中国画的专利——留白艺术。 留白艺术在历代中国画家的绘画作品中随处可 见。留白艺术中的“白”，并不是指白色， 而是指画面的原 布料材质，是画面中有意留 下的，即“无”和“虚”。它与画中的“形” 和“实”，够成虚实关系，达到无中生有的目 的，与画面中的主题素材相互补充，成为绘画 中的有机组成部分，能以最简明的程式承载着 最精深的情感，颇有“此时无声胜有声”的 静态效果，是艺术家所追求的更高的审美境 界——“无笔墨处之妙境”。
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恰到好处的留白， 给人以想象的空间与艺术的美感， 方寸之地亦显天地之宽。 元素越少，人的注意力越集中， 周围的留白面积更大， 空间感就会越明显。 这种留白手法， 在中式房屋的设计中， 也体现的淋漓尽致， 这种“此处无物胜有物”的留白艺术， 呈现了高雅的审美情境。 留白非残缺， 有了留白，才为所谓的完整
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30 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
DOCTOR
?
LINGERS
I’ve been friends with this girl for a while now, how do I ask my crush to prom? - Sadlover
Snapchat! It’s quick, and you can always say it was for the wrong person or that it was simply a dare if you get rejected. JUST KIDDING! Don’t ask someone over social media because it shows 0 effort whatsoever. I suggest holding up some sort of sign with a pun related to their name, that’s pretty cute. You could go the creative route and make a video or sing a song for a predicted ‘Aaaww’.
I suck at academics and taking tests. Do you think I will be able to graduate?
Tell me, why am I struggling in Chinese B HL? - 救命
Dear Sad IB student. Dr Lingers suggests that you should read more Chinese books to improve your fluency and vocabulary.
I don’t understand why this guy is seen-ing me! - V frustrated gal I’m going to go ahead and surmise that he’s a romantic interest. If he’s seen-ing you, he’s either a) lazy or hates texting or b) not that interested. It’s really not that hard to text back; if he continues to do this you should realise that there are better people to talk to than walls. You don’t want to seem too desperate either, so I think you should stop talking to him for a while. Either way, if he finally responds, you should give him a taste of his own medicine!
- Homo sapien All you need is more practice! Take as many practice tests as you need to. Just because you aren’t as academically inclined does not mean to say you will not graduate. They’ll try to close the door on you… Just open it. When you stop making excuses and you work hard and go hard you will be very successful. Baby, you smart! You loyal! You a genius! - DJ Khaled
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31 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
HOT BITES FOOD REVIEW
上海香港麵家 Shanghai Hong Kong Noodle Shop BY PHYLLIS LAM | PHOTOGRAPHY BY PHYLLIS LAM The Shanghai Hong Kong Noodle Shop is an open street-stall which welcomes its customers from all walks of life into its open kitchen. Walking into the shop, customers are greeted by the steam coming from the baskets full of hot sticky rice rolls. Customers sit on the stools and round collapsible tables, bringing back memories of the cultures and traditions of old Hong Kong and Shanghai. The loud noise and crowded atmosphere gives this place a friendly and welcoming vibe to its customers. For decades, the Shanghai Hong Kong Noodle Shop has been preparing cheap, popular and delicious Shanghainese cuisine. The Shanghai Hong Kong Noodle Shop is practically crowded every hour of the day. Although it is a noodle shop, the most famous dishes are the Shanghainese style sticky rice roll ($20); sweet soybean milk ($10); salty soybean milk ($13); spring onion pancake ($10); deep fried twisted dough sticks ($10) and cold bean curd ($10). All of which are within the reasonable and affordable range, whereas larger portioned, traditional dishes such as rice, noodles and dumplings would roughly cost $40-$70. The favorite dish among most customers is the Shanghainese style snow white rice roll. The rice roll consists of several layers of ingredients, namely a thick layer of sticky rice as the base, scattered with some light brown pork floss, light green chopped up pickles,
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and golden brown deep fried twisted dough sticks before it is rolled up tightly like a sushi roll. Using a thin sheet of cling wrap, the rice roll is wrapped into a whole so that customers will be able to eat it without the rice sticking onto or burning their fingers. Some customers may request to have the rice roll be cut into halves, revealing the delicious looking content of the rice roll and at the same time hot steam escapes while the fragrance spreads to the nearby customers. The customers have to be careful when taking a bite of the food as the hot ingredients may fall out easily. The first mouthful of the rice roll has sticky, crispy and crunchy texture that gives way to an unforgettable experience.
welcoming atmosphere is appreciated by customers. Prices are within a reasonable range, allowing a diverse range of customers to come as frequently as they like. The decent prices and delicious food make getting a seat during peak hours (12:00 pm - 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm) an immense challenge. On top of that, reservations cannot be made and there are often queues of people waiting to pick up their orders. If someone is looking for a place to eat delicious food at a reasonable price, the Shanghai Noodle Shop Hong Kong is the ideal place to go to!
To accompany the sticky rice roll, many customers often order the sweet or salty soybean milk. The hot sweet soybean milk usually comes in a plastic bowl, whereas the cold soybean milk comes in a plastic cup. Both are delicious and thirst quenching drinks. The salty soybean milk is mixed with a sprinkle of spring onion, dough sticks and oyster sauce, ingredients which make the milk fragrant and delectable. The unique, savoury taste of the warm soybean milk leaves the taste buds yearning for more, particularly on cold days. Regardless of the location and environment where the shop is situated, customers keep coming back for more. In addition to the food, the friendly,
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32 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
Teacher Diary: Edwin Tanner By Francisca Lam 1) How do you start your day? When I hear the alarm clock, I’d do some stretching before getting out of bed. Every morning I have cereal for breakfast. Every time I go back to Canada I would bring back a whole selection of different brands of cereal. Every morning I also join Ms Trevisan’s Yoga & stretching class at 6:45 a.m. for half an hour. It is a good way to start the day with exercise. 2) What are some of the responsibilities that you uphold at school? I teach music to Year 1, 2 and 3 students. For extra curricular activities, I run the Y2/3 choir and the Y5/6 World Music Drumming Group. Since a few years ago I have also been helping with Y12 Rotary Club English program. It’s been good to have the opportunity to interact with both big and little kids in CIS. 3) What do you enjoy outside of CIS? I enjoy playing music outside of CIS. I sing and write songs and play in bands. From time to time I also get invitations to run music workshops for teachers in China, sharing original songs and my experience in teaching music.
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6:30-7:45: During this time period, I usually get up and I get ready for a good day ahead. I like to squeeze in a quick breakfast while doing some quick reading. My favourite type of breakfast is cereal; every time I go back to Canada I bring back boxes of cereal and I have a selection of different cereals at home. Afterwards, I do quick exercise- typically, I join Ms. Trevisan’s Yoga and Stretching class at 6:45 to get my body ready for the day and when I arrive at school, I prepare my material and classroom for the day. 7:45-3:15: During this timeframe I typically engage in teaching as well as lots and lots of teaching related tasks. 3:15-5:15: On some days I have extra-curricular activities- I run the Y2/3 choir and the Y5/6 world drumming group, and help with the secondary Rotary programme, so on some days I’m engaged in those activities. Typically, I plan my lessons, organise various classroom instruments and get my teaching material ready for the next day. In addition, I also need to sort out many administrative tasks at the end of the day - such as replying emails to parents and colleagues, arranging rehearsal
space, organising files, writing reports etc. A fun fact that some people might not know about me is that I do take Mandarin lessons on a weekly basis as I do appreciate the language and I want to speak it fluently. 5:15-6:15: From this time period, I usually arrive home and I manage to have dinner. 6:30-9:30: This is my relaxation time period after a day of work. I normally spend time with my family- either by watching the news or just having some family time which does vary from day to day. I do believe that spending time with family is a core and integral part of my day and I enjoy the time that I unwind and relax with my family. Afterwards, I do try to put effort into playing the piano and further delving into my relaxation zone. 9:30-10:00: On a relatively regularly day to day basis, I spend half an hour to slowly get into the process of going to bed and I usually drift off to sleep around 10:00.
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33 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
JOKES COLUMN By Hyning Gan | Illustration by Toni Suen
My math teacher gave me an average score on my test, he’s so MEAN How do billboards communicate? Using SIGN LANGUAGE, it’s pretty HANDY to learn
Why does peter pan always fly? Because he’s from NEVERLAND
Why did the bicycle fall down? Because it was TWO-TIRED Did you hear about the two guys that stole a calendar? They each got 6 months
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What do you call a pig that does kung fu? PORK CHOP What do you call a panda that does kung fu? Kung fu panda
Joke of the Day
I tried to grab fog...but I MIST
A new employee just joined the company, it was his first day. He phoned the company cafe and shouted “Hey, bring me a coffee now!” The voice from the other side cried “How rude! You’ve dialed the wrong number! Do you know who you’re talking to?” “No” replied the new employee. “I’m the CEO of this company!” the man exclaimed. “Well then, do YOU know who I am?” the new employee replied. “No” responded the CEO “GOOD!” The employee answered and hung up the phone.
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34 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
Written By: Tippy Pei | Photographed By: Ryan Chiao
奔跑吧 舞龍隊
「鐺。鐺。鐺。鐺。嘿！」
喝聲震天，鑼鼓四起，一枚絢麗的龍珠飛竄進了場內，不 斷地在其中游走，緊緊跟著的是一條五彩金龍，扭動著靈 活的身軀，連綿起伏，忽上忽下忽高忽低，追逐著那枚龍 珠。當然，還有那金龍下揮汗如雨、目光堅毅的九名舞龍 者，踏著他們穩健的步伐，揮著他們健壯的手臂，主導著 這一切。這場面便是舞龍，這人們便是我們的漢基舞龍 隊。 在發起人倪國成老師的帶領下，漢基舞龍隊在2001年成 立。經過十五年來的傳承，舞龍隊從剛開始的一條龍发展 壮大成兩條龍，曾經更一度有教師舞龍隊。每逢中國傳統 節日，或是重大的慶祝活動，我們總是能看到飛龍翱翔的 英姿。 還記得在十一年級剛開始時，在張老師的「建議」下，我 第一次抓起了那根銀色的鐵桿。當時看著身邊的一眾十三 年級的師兄師姐們臉上從容的微笑，反而使得我更加不想 失誤，更加緊張，手心直冒汗。在師兄師姐的帶領下，我 咬緊牙關，緊握著那根沉重的棍子，開始左右揮動。從小 到大我都一直是以旁觀者的身分觀賞舞龍，但是那刻我抬 起頭時，眼前的景象使我頓時愣住了。龍身曲折的躍動線 條，在龍頭的帶領下，像被賦予了生命一樣，跟著我們身 體的節奏翩翩起舞。這時我才發現，舞龍隊衣服上印著的 「舞龍者」，指的不是纯粹把龍舞起來的人，而是與龍共 舞的人。不過，我始終還是個新手，所以我意料之中地在 大家輕鬆地跳過龍身時，摔了一大跤。 舞龍最看重的，是其團隊精神。龍頭，固然是整條龍的中 樞，一支隊伍的指揮。隊伍的站位、舞動的花樣全都要靠 龍頭的帶領。不過，孤掌難鳴，更別說想拿一根棍子舞起 整條龍。龍身的舞龍者是每一個舞動花樣的執行員，把龍
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的雄偉姿態呈獻在觀眾的面前。表演時，大家不會再用語 言提醒對方下一個動作，因為我們平日已經培養了出色的 默契。 很多人剛聽到「舞龍」一詞時，下意識地會笑一笑，也許 是因為他們覺得舞龍，跟廣場大媽跳小蘋果一樣，是項輕 鬆的舞蹈吧？事實上，舞龍是一項十分有挑戰性的運動。 每一次的訓練，每一次的揮桿，每一次的奔跑，舞龍者們 都付出了自己的全部。訓練過後，大家往往都是汗流浹 背，氣喘吁吁地把龍抬回七樓的教員室門口。雖然過程辛 苦，但每個人臉上永遠都是掛著那一張從容的笑臉，因為 舞龍不求與別人爭勝負的鬥心，只求互相支持全力付出的 熱情。我們在操場上流下的每一滴青春的汗水，是自己努 力奮鬥的最佳證明。 漢基學生舞的龍，有著它獨特的风格。與其說它是在弘揚 中國傳統文化，更不如說是中西文化的交流。舞龍雖然源 於中國，但是每年都有不同國籍的漢基學生加入舞龍隊， 大家雖然有著不同的文化背景，但當眾人齊心架起那條龍 時，那份喜悅和振奮便被連成一線，腦海裏的「我」，慢 慢地蛻變成了「我們」。每一次準備表演時，我們穿上 的，是充滿著榮耀的「舞龍者」T恤，我們繫上的，是在 觀眾面前拼盡一切的勇氣。每年龍的傳承，象徵了漢基學 生薪火相傳的優良傳統，這是舞龍隊的重擔的繼承，更是 新挑戰的開端， 展望 來，舞龍隊希望可以為漢基和我們的社區帶來更多 的表演，盡我們的所能傳揚如此珍貴的舞龍文化。漢基的 龍，是的團結一致的；漢基的龍，是振奮人心的；漢基的 龍，是代代相傳的。有機會的話，一起來與龍共舞吧！ 奔跑吧！舞龍隊！
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35 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
Movie Review
LA LA LAND By: Katherine Wu Illustration: Brittany Au
By now, the mention of the movie title La La Land should incite no less discussion, controversy, and everlasting hype than expected. The award-winning, singing, and dancing motion picture has had its fair share of time in the spotlight in the past year, having achieved a viral amount of exposure to the public eye in the past few months. The extent of La La Land’s success turned many heads in many industries this year, among thousands of film and jazz critics, as the movie garnered incredible recognition in more than 50 film associations upon release. Amidst its extensive list of accolades, La La Land broke the record for most amount of Golden Globe awards won by a single film, as well as a whopping 14 Academy nominations. However, as these figures, which were practically unheard of, continued to upsurge the film’s pedestal to fame, the tremendous success also incited a great deal of controversy from a variety of audiences. As the film continued to be showered in more and more praise and recognition, criticism and cries of “overrated” continued to intensify.
and Ryan Gosling, epitomised the return of the modern romantic-comedy musical. The love story breathes its humble roots to life amidst a nostalgic movie setting, namely a sleepy, golden era of Hollywood. Following a few lucky meetings scattered across Los Angeles, the two main characters Mia and Sebastian cross paths in unsuspecting places, and begin to learn of their shining and undeniable chemistry. Mia is an aspiring actress and Sebastian is a jazz fanatic and musician-to-be. The audience then gets to witness the development of their relationship, ranging from shared sweat and tears in their endeavors for Hollywood to surreal frolicking in the Planetarium. Fast forward a few months, and eventually, both characters crash to a halt with the realization that they were gradually, yet inevitably drifting apart. Their romantic tension fades as both characters eventually pursue different paths, allowing for a teary yet perfectly bittersweet finale to their story of the decade.
However, with the good always comes the bad.. For La La Land, the bad manifested itself in an outpouring of criticism If you haven’t heard already that also mirrored the accumulation of (although highly unlikely), praise and recognition the movie reLa La Land details a love story ceived. For starters, although the movie between Mia and Sebastian, two presented a colorful, riveting, and almost young “dreamers” who are none picture-perfect blow by blow of a love but striving for their aspirations under the buzzing, neon lights of story most could only dream of, many L.A., cleverly dubbed La La Land. saw an issue with the movie’s casting, namely the glaring lack of diversity in The story, directed by Damien main actors. There were almost no main Chazelle and headlined by the characters that were played by minorities two protagonists, Emma Stone
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or non-white actors. In fact, the beaming “whiteness” of Mia and Sebastian was a point well discussed. ‘Whitewashing’ has been an issue among other recent movie releases as well. The act of casting white actors and actresses in non-white roles highlight how movies ultimately fail to allow diversity (either intentionally or subconsciously) in casting, especially when the characters themselves are racially ambiguous or non-white to begin with. For example, the fantasy film Ghost in the Shell was released in March 2017, and faced similar media backlash about their casting choice for the main role, Motoko Kusanagi. While the character in the original Japanese franchise was Asian, Scarlett Johansson, a renowned white actress, was cast in the main role, causing many viewers to question and criticize the movie’s miscasting. Amidst the seesaw of praise and criticism, La La Land still remains one of the most notable films of the year, with its successful and effective revival of modern romantic musicality evident in its record-breaking amount of nominations and awards. If you’re looking for a light watch that will leave you with a tear in your eye and a tune in your head, this is the movie for you! For those unimpressed by the lack of diversity in cast and the classic, overused Hollywood story, perhaps you may find excellence in the movie’s soundtrack, cinematography, or other noteworthy elements of that helped La La Land down its its path to fame in 2017. Worth the hype, I guess?
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36 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
Scrabble: More Than Just A Game 曾老师与《拼字朋友们》 By Constance Lam Photography by Xavier Banson 曾老师: It’s not a smaller part of a
larger article? 难怪这不是一篇长论文的小部分？ 林同学: No, you are the star of this
narrative. 否，你是主角。
Tin: (laughs) Ok, I see how it is. （微笑着）哦，原来如此。
我在今学期的八月份组成了Scrabble 俱乐部。自从去年的十月份，我为了 跟十三年级的学生一起好好地利用 Advisory时间，开始跟他们玩Scrabble。于是，我买了游戏包邮后跟他 们完了几次，每一次都玩得挺热闹。 其实，我向来都很喜欢拼字游戏。去 年，我们数学部门的办公室在第七楼 上。办公室里的数学老师们跟我一 样，挺喜欢玩拼字游戏。因此，我们 天天在办公室里完成英文填字游戏， 亦会完成《南华早报》里的字谜。自 从我们有了Scrabble的游戏包邮，我 们暂停了这写游戏，自然而然地玩 Scrabble。至今，我们几乎每天都会 玩……哎哟！哪怕你会将我刚才的话 披露给《校话》所有的读者！反正我 们有空的时候，比方说在休息和午饭 时间，会十分快活地玩。起初，我们 部门里的每一个老师都会一起玩。 我们以国籍而分成三组：欧洲人，美 国人，澳洲人。可是，过了一段时 间，有些老师对Scrabble渐渐地失去 兴趣，只有我和Mr. Jones, Mr. Tran, Mr. Kwan会玩到年尾。我想，我们如 果能玩得这么起劲，那么我应该组织 一个Scrabble的课外活动，那么，学 生们也可以对Scrabble产生兴趣。
I started this year, August-September. Well, I started playing Scrabble last year, in around October-November of 2015 and the reason I did that was because I had advisory, a Y13 advisory group, and I was looking for things to do with them so I thought Oh, let’s play scrabble with them! So I bought a Scrabble set, and I played with them just one time, and I really enjoyed it.
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In general, I’ve always enjoyed word games. Actually, last year we had our Math’s office on the old 7th floor and a bunch of other maths teachers also like word games so we always did the crossword every day in the Math office, we also did the 9 letter anagram from the South China Morning Post, but once I bought the Scrabble Set, we stopped doing that and started playing Scrabble. And we play pretty much every day...Oh no, this is going into that magazine! In our breaktimes and lunch, we play. And then it got really competitive, Mr. Jones, myself, Mr. Tran, Mr. Kwan, we were all really into it. Actually, everyone was playing initially. We had three teams of 3 people by nationality, so we had the Europeans against the Americans and against the Australians/New Zealanders. But then some people weren’t as interested or just stopped playing, so Mr. Tran Mr. Kwan myself and Mr. Jones just kept playing all year. So we really got into it, and I thought, that would be a really cool thing to do for a CCA. 大多数的人以为教数学与拼字游戏是 两件天差地别的事，但我认为所有数 学家应有视觉空间推理的智能。比 方说，如果你要了解一道字问题， 你必须想象题目所包含的概念。因 此，Scrabble也能给你同一个挑战， 每一个竞赛者一共有七砖，你必须在 脑中以这些砖，想象无数的组合。我 个人认为自己有挺强的视觉空间推理 能力，而我玩Scrabble或者其他拼字 游戏时会使用视觉空间推理。其次， 我非常喜欢玩拼字游戏，尤其是填字 游戏。就如你在数学课里所观察过， 我们经常会玩”Countdown”（填字 游戏）。嗯，我知道玩填字游戏跟教 数学截然不同，可是填字游戏简直太 好玩了！
They don’t seem to be related at all, but in my mind, if one aspect of being
a Mathematician is having good visual-spatial reasoning, being able to read a word problem just kind of picture what going on, and I think Scrabble is kind of similar in that you’ve got these 7 tiles and you just have to jumble them around in your head, and I think that my visual spatial reasoning is pretty good, and that really helps with anagramming, and just generally how you play Scrabble. And I just like word problems, I just like doing crosswords. As you’ve seen yourself in Math class, we’ve done that Countdown thing, that conundrum, Yeah it’s just fun! Bit of a change from Math and numbers?
Oh, no, not really. Haven’t been inspired per se, but one thing I did do a little bit was cuz it got really competitive last year, Mr. Jones and Mr. Tran, Mr. Kwan. I started to study words, b/c the more words you know the better you’re going to be at Scrabble. I wouldn’t really say I’ve been inspired in anyway, I haven’t grown spiritually or anything like that, I just know these weird Scrabble words. 我没有什么新颖的觉悟，可是我最近 开始积累成千成万的英文单词。如果 你能扩大自己的词汇越，你也可以扩 大赢一场Scrabble的可能性。除此之 外，我没有在精神上或者在起他方面 上得到特殊的启发，但我现在认识许 多古灵精怪的单词。
One of the most basic ingredients of Scrabble are those two-letter words, and there are 105 of them. In order to be any good at Scrabble, you need to know those at the starting point. So I’ve learnt some really new, weird words. Such as za, which is short form for pizza. Qi, which is energy in Chinese, a very important word in Scrabble.
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37 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 There are many, Xi, Xu, jo etcetera. Scrabble的基础便在于有两个字母的 英文单词，如今一共有105个。如果 你想成为一名优秀的竞赛着，你必 须把这些单词背得滚瓜烂熟。比方 说，”za” 这两个字母可以构成一 个单词 － 它是披萨的简称。 “气 (qi)”字，力气的气，也是一个非常 关键的单词。另外，还有 “xi, xu” 之类的单词。
Is there a standard dictionary used in Scrabble tournaments? 其实，Scrabble是一个环球游戏。当 然，在某些时段，起他竞赛者会挑战 你选的单词，所以我们必须用一个特 定的字典。可是，不同的地方会有不 同的字典。比方说，有一 专门写给 来自北美洲的参赛者的字典，但来自 英国的竞赛着会用另一 字典。因 此，所有的竞赛着都必须知道比赛选 取的字典。可是，这些字典不是普通 的字典，它们是Scrabble的特定字 典。
but if you have a competitive spirit, this is another arena where you can explore that. I love winning. Healthy competition is always important. 我认为唯一的利益是增加自己的词 汇。我个人对Scrabble有兴趣的原因 来自我自己的竞争性 － 我向来都特 别喜欢赢比赛！有时候，这不是优 点，但如果你想通过某些渠道探索自 己的竞争性，Scrabble是一个佳例。 在我们忙碌的生活中，良性的竞争有 莫大的重要性。
Is it “healthy competition” if you play word games with people who you know you’re going to beat? 如果你跟一斑人一起玩拼字游戏，而 你肯定会赢过他们，这算是「良性競 爭」嗎？
一個社交活動，師生們都能聚在一 起，有說有笑地互動。我很喜歡跟 Scrabble俱樂部的學生們一起玩，我 挺喜歡陪伴他們。
We haven’t, I haven’t really thought about that until one of the people in the club asked whether we should enter the Hong Kong Schools competition. I was a little bit hesitant, and I still am, because I still think that our level isn’t good enough yet, I mean the person who asked only just joined, and she’s only played about 5 games. If the students reach a good level, I would absolutely want to enter the HK schools tournament, but not until that point. We’re not ready.
In the office, we were pretty close, and also quite evenly matched in terms of skills. It’s kind of a social thing, where people get together, just hang out, just another thing where people can interact with each other. I really enjoy playing with the Year 12s in the Scrabble Club, I enjoy being in their company.
還沒有，我自己其實沒有考慮過。最 近，一個Scrabble俱樂部的會員問過 我，有沒有考慮參加香港學校間的 Scrabble比賽。起初，我有點猶豫， 現在還是有點猶豫，因為我覺得我們 現在的水平不夠高。問我那道題的 同學是新會員，她至今只玩了五場遊 戲。如果學生們能夠達到一個良好的 水平，我會全心全意地支持他們參加 比賽。現在，我們還沒預備好。
數學部門裡的老師們之間的關係向來 都十分密切，而且我們玩Scrabble的 能力都差不多強。其實，Scrabble是
When does the Scrabble club meet?
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Scrabble is actually a worldwide game, but obviously at certain points people will want to challenge the words that you’re playing, so we have to use a certain dictionary. But there are certain dictionaries depending on which region you’re in. So there’s a North American dictionary, a more global dictionary, and different tournaments around the world use different dictionaries, so it’s really important to know which dictionary the tournament is based on. But it’s not a regular dictionary, it a special Scrabble dictionary.
I think the main thing is that you might improve your vocab. That’s pretty much it? The reason why I enjoy it is because I’m a competitive person, which isn’t always a benefit, Tuesdays after school, 3-4:30 每逢星期二，下午三点至四点半。
I think as you just mentioned, a way to take it on is to enter school competitions. We normally have 5 people who come, all of whom are Year 12s. If more people turned up and they took it really seriously, I’d be really keen to coach them to a good level, and to get serious and to compete. But that depends on student interest. Maybe the younger years will be more serious about it. 如你所提到，我认为我们学校的 Scrabble俱乐部应该参加一些学校间 的比赛。平时，我们平均有五六个学 生参加者，他们全部都是十二年级的 学生。如果更多同学想参与Scrabble 俱乐部，而如果他们能够认真地对待 Scrabble，我会很乐意地教他们不同的 技巧，一直他们达到良好的水平。当 然，我们Scrabble俱乐部的前途都全靠 学生的兴趣。我希望低年级的学生会 积极地参与Scrabble俱乐部，那么，我 们的团队会非常完整！
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KEVIN QUINN’S FAVOURITES by catherine ding What is your favourite genre of music? What draws you into this genre? I suppose I like singer songwriters, whether they are classic R&B or country. I’m mostly drawn to the genres where he/she writes her own music.
Who are your favourite artists and what’s your favorite album? What aspect of this artist’s style and album do you enjoy the most? Some of my favourite artists include Frank Ocean, and I would have to say his album Blonde is my favourite at least for now. I also quite like the Indigo Girls, who I think are some of the best singer songwriters working today. I enjoy the kind of intelligent interplay between raw emotion and coded lyrical depth and how inventive he is with each of his songs.
If you had to choose one author who has influenced you the most, who would it be? James Baldwin.
What book are you reading at the moment? I’m reading Swing Time by Zadie Smith. What is your favourite fiction book? Hard, but I would say Another Country by James Baldwin. This is because it’s by my favourite writer who is singlehandedly the largest influence on how I sing and write, and it has some of the most acutely realised examination of how humans behave with and towards each other. It explores race, sexuality and geographical elements in terms of how these all collide to form human identity. Also, it is written beautifully.
Non fiction book? A collection of Baldwin’s essays, called Notes of a Native Son.
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What is your favourite film and why? That’s very tough, but I really like Dancer in the Dark, which I like because it’s very haunting but very unsentimental. It concerns a topic that is deeply heartbreaking but the way that it unfolds is artistic and controlled, so that the pain and sadness you feel at the end of the movie is so raw that it almost very difficult to deal with.
Do you have a top three list of all time favourite TV
shows? Why these three?
The Cosby Show, A Different World (spinoff of one of the characters from the cosby show) and Arrested Development. The Cosby Show just because it’s so important to my childhood, developmentally and also for my sense of normalising the idea that black people could be represented in positive ways in TV.
Do you have a favourite actor/actress? I suppose I’m quite drawn to Maggie Smith, I do like British actresses and actors but I just find her quite intelligent and magnetic on screen.
Who’s your favourite fashion
designer and why?
It’s probably Hedi Slimane, I just think his sense of elegance and style is so tremendous and deeply artistic and he definitely has a spectrum and aesthetic of how he looks at the world.
What’s your favourite play/production and why? I really enjoyed Fela! On Broadway which is about the Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. It was electrifying and nothing like that has ever been seen on broadway before. A truly riveting, intelligent production that was not too opera.
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My Grandmother Thinks I’m Too Political Apathy and the Model Minority By Sophie Li | Illustration by Toni Suen My grandmother wanted me to become a poet. Failing that, a painter; failing that, a scientist. She supported the creative drive of poets, the supposed longevity of Chinese painters; finally, succumbing to the demands of a modern and more pragmatic world, she championed the stability and employment potential of a job in the sciences. When she learned what I was planning to study in college, her eyebrows drew together, the corners of her mouth turned down, she shook her head, frowning. Oh, she said grudgingly. But why politics? There is a particular look found on the faces of my elders whenever politics comes up as the topic of conversation. It is half-
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amused, half-patronising, with an undercurrent of boredom and disdain, and inevitably my name is brought up whenever I’m in the room: Oh, you know, Sophie’s really interested in politics. (And why she should be is beyond us.) In all fairness, part of that response is universal: the world has rarely held back when it comes to disparaging the practice of politics. As Mark Twain once said, “Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress .... But I repeat myself.” Eric Idle: “A lot has been said about politics; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate.” Otto von Bismarck, he who created modern Germany, put it a little more bluntly: “Politics ruins the character.”
Mr. Bismarck, my grandmother would agree. In her eyes, politics is the game played by old men with the money and status to spare. Politics, in her lifetime, has produced two wars and a famine. But my conversations with her have inevitably invited the question often asked by many political scientists: is political apathy a greater problem with Asians? Does the Asian identity necessarily intersect with the rejection of political participation? — And if so, why? In some Asian countries, the problem of election inaction isn’t the product of political apathy alone — in China, for example, there are some other restrictions in place, including but not limited to the absence of actual elections. (When the incoming American
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President-elect was announced to be a walking narcissistic personality disorder, one joke in particular made the rounds on WeChat: this would never be a problem in China.) In other cases where elections nominally exist, they can be farcical and meaningless; other times, socioeconomic limitations like poverty and the ravages of war push voting down to the bottom of the priority list. Yes, there is Taiwan and South Korea, but there is also Myanmar and Cambodia and Vietnam. Perhaps the arc of the moral universe does bend towards justice, but it would be misleading to suggest that democracy in any incarnation creates the most just world, or that Asia is there already. Political apathy can therefore best be illustrated by Asians in foreign countries with relatively healthy systems of politics — take, for example, the United States. Asians in the US have historically low rates of political participation, compared to other demographics: amongst voting-age Asian Americans, just 26% are citizens registered to vote for their representatives. Why do Asian Americans vote less? Some barriers are structural. Language, for example, keeps many from the voting booth: though Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act stipulates that if at least 5% of the members of the same jurisdiction are limited English proficient, the local state registra-
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tion must translate voting materials for the population. But according to Christine Chen, executive director of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (an organisation seeking to promote civic participation at local, state and national levels amongst minorities), in a large majority of such jurisdictions language assistance services simply don’t exist. What about those who don’t face language barriers? Data from the Pew Research Center has shown that 37% of registered Asian-American non-voters said that they were too busy to vote. Jobs, school, a lack of time and effort… The phrase “too busy”, deliberately vague and familiar to all of us as an excuse offered at some point or another to mask the fact that we simply didn’t care, hints at a factor more interesting, more insidious, and far more difficult to tackle: a cultural disinclination towards politics. On one end of the spectrum, Asians are perceived as dangerously nationalistic, brainwashed into loyalty and politically hyperactive. After all, it’s not for nothing that portraits of Mao gaze out from the walls of almost every family in China. Political thought, passed down through generations, expounds a love for the homeland and a deliberately narrow definition of patriotism that rejects any kind of criticism towards the nation-state.
But on the other end, and for those living in diasporas especially, Asians are seen as the politically apathetic, focused only on economic progress and disinterested in public affairs. This is far more prevalent stereotype, of unique relevance to Asians living in the West. After all, the model minority does not march in the streets with signs and slogans. The model minority does not expend brain space on problems they are unlikely to be personally able to fix. The model minority keeps its eyes on the exam paper, focus fixed on an Ivy League. Political activism hits two prominent red alert buttons of the Asian consciousness: a distraction from your studies, and a dangerous way to get noticed. Just look at political participation close to home — it’s no coincidence that the popularity of the Occupy movement began to wane as the economic cost mounted. A common refrain, especially amongst older citizens: of course I support their message, but does it have to be so inconvenient? Why spend your time chanting in the streets when you could be studying for exams instead? Moreover, as my grandmother’s generation so keenly remembers, political dissidence in many home countries was the fast track to jail or some other permanent and violent disappearance. Becoming a politician, on the other hand, was synonymous to cronyism. Given
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the turbulent history of democracy in Asian countries, from a historical perspective, the aversion to politics is a natural consequence. So why does political apathy matter? Because it means Asian Americans remain largely invisible in the American political arena, because politicians view them as fundamentally apathetic and disinterested, and when no one is listening to your voice, there are fewer and fewer reasons to keep talking. Even the poster child of left-wing liberalism, Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, has a habit of talking about racial justice in the context of just three specific groups of people: white, African American, and Hispanic. In a situation of low-level equilibrium, when there is insufficient demand for change, change does not come; when change fails to happen, demanding it seems futile, and on it goes forever. On the surface, this phenomenon can be explained by simple mathematics — Asians are just 4% of the electorate, as estimated by Pew in 2016, compared to blacks (12%) or Hispanics (12%). Yet Pew also concludes that the largest growth in the voting public is amongst Asian Americans, a demographic bloc that grew four times faster than any other group from 2000 to 2010. To create a new equilibrium requires either supply or demand to change (thank you IB economics), and
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people move faster than politicians do: slowly but steadily, Asian American participation in politics is expanding. In swing states like North Carolina, the number of Asian Americans registered to vote statewide grew by 130% from 2006 to 2016; in Nevada, it more than doubled in size from 2000 to 2010. As the voting age bloc is changing to represent America’s first generation Asians, and the second, and the third, a member of the model minority may soon become less of a model, compliant citizen, and more than that, less of a minority. Sometimes I want to tell my grandmother that it’s not that I don’t find economic advancement important, but rather, that politics and making a livelihood tend to go hand in hand. Immigration, for example, one of the most hotly contested election issues last year that refuses to go away, has been one of the most widely-used gateways out of poverty in an Asian country wracked by poverty and dictatorship to America, land of the free. (Everything’s relative.) The very act of writing this article, in fact, was only made possible when my own parents got out of their villages and onto a plane for the US. And unknown by most Americans is the fact that the fastest growing group of undocumented immigrants is made of Asians — not Hispanics — and that there are 1.3 million of them in the United States. Moreover, Asian applications to the Obama
administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program have been a fraction of those from Latin and Central America: 20% for youths from South Korea and India and 23% for the Philippines, compared to their peers from El Salvador (91%), Mexico (82%), and Honduras (81%). If it becomes not Hispanics but Asians who are believed to be taking away American jobs — a growing suspicion already expressed in certain university admissions, to no doubt be the subject of countless lawsuits in the future — political participation is going to matter more than ever before. Asians, largely unseen and unheard at the front lines of the immigration debate, have much to gain from speaking up, and their elders from supporting the young people who chose to raise their voice. My grandmother, like most grandmothers, always means well; it’s not her fault we’re both as stubborn as donkeys. I’ll probably never convince her that vegetarians won’t die of protein deficiency, or that majoring in humanities doesn’t mean permanent unemployment. But advocating political participation is one topic that I don’t intend on giving up on, because for better or worse, politics matters to Asians, and it doesn’t seem likely to ever go away.
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OUT OF THE ARCADE - THE RISE OF ESPORTS By: Ethan Lam | Illustration by Kristen Wong
A group of teenagers sit down in their chairs at a dimly lit net-cafe. Around them, the click-clack of fingers gliding across chunky fluorescent keyboards, the pale glow of monitors, and the silent whir of computers sitting on top of the desks. Much like the tens of others around them, they’ve come here to do one thing— play video games. Whether it be the puzzle game you tap at on the commute home, or the 400 dollar blockbuster that forms the highlight of several weekends to come, it wouldn’t be a radical idea to say that almost everybody consumes video games in one form or another. They’ve barrelled into the mainstream, a far cry from the arcade scene that they were once ubiquitous with during the 70’s and 80’s. The MoMA has 14 video games on display, Minecraft is used as an educational tool in classrooms, and celebrity-laden adverts for video games air during the Super Bowl— the landscape of modern pop culture is rapidly changing, thanks to video games. What sets video games apart from other mediums is that they are the first truly interactive entertainment medium: People have different styles, different reactions, and differing levels of skill when it comes to playing video games. Because of this, the video game experience is truly unique not just when it comes to actually playing, but also when watching someone else play. The phenomenon of “spectator-gaming” is something that’s risen to prominence in recent years— In fact, it’s entirely possible to build a career on letting others watch you play video games. Pewdiepie, a Swedish “Let’s-Play” video producer, records himself reacting to video games as he plays them, and uploads the footage to Youtube— he’s currently the most subscribed person on Youtube, with 54 million subscribers at the time of writing. He’s estimated to be worth 60 million USD, and has his own network within Maker Studios. As a testament to his cultural influence, he has even appeared on The Colbert Show and
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Conan. Perhaps, then, it shouldn’t be surprising that video games have developed a competitive side that feeds into the spectator phenomenon. It isn’t just reactive on-camera personalities who are able to create a career from the rapidly growing popularity of video games, but also athletes who play games on a higher level than most players. eSports isn’t some unrealistic dream created by disillusioned gamers, some “sport of the future”— it’s real, and unbeknownst to many, is taking off right in front of us. Even if the young adults of today grew up with video games, video games are still commonly associated with children and adolescents. However, it would be wrong to write off eSports as nothing more than shoddily produced marketing for these games that panders to the youth, or even a juvenile attempt to join the kids at the big table. Though eSports is still young, it’s already surprisingly developed. Much like traditional sports, eSports comes complete with big-brand sponsors, professional commentators, as well as regional leagues and teams. Competitions are played out in dedicated facilities that house hundreds, with tournaments and finals selling out arenas and attracting millions of online viewers: the 2016 League of Legends World Championship semifinals sold out Madison Square Garden, and the finals at the Staples Center attracted 43 million unique online viewers. Teams such as Fnatic, TSM, and Cloud 9 have in-house managers, psychologists, analysts, and coaches, as well as houses that serve as both training grounds and housing for players. And just like traditional sports, some players make ludicrous amounts of money— at just 18 years old, Sumail “sumaiL” Hassan, the mid laner for Evil Geniuses’ Dota 2 team, has already earned USD $2,401,426 from tournament winnings alone. eSports is truly beginning to infiltrate
the mainstream, and it’s growing incredibly quickly— Newzoo, an analysis firm specializing in the games industry, predicts that the eSports industry will generate USD $1 billion in 2017. It’s important to note that this growth has happened in the span of 20 years. What is truly interesting is that eSports is only now starting to erupt, and investors are just beginning to dip their toes into the eSports pool, which rapidly accelerates the growth of the scene. There’s been a trend in investors— many are often former athletes in traditional sports. In 2015, Rick Fox— formerly of the LA Lakers— purchased and developed Echo Fox, his own eSports team. Mark Cuban— owner of the Dallas Mavericks— invested in Fantasy Labs, an eSports analytical firm, and Shaquille O’Neal (also formerly of the Lakers) purchased stakes in team NRG. Entire teams are also investing in eSports, with teams such as Schalke 04, Manchester City, and Valencia FC fielding their own rosters or purchasing existing teams. And since the demographic of eSports consumers is desirable to advertisers (most are in the sweet spot of 21 - 35 years of age), corporations are also beginning to throw their weight into the industry in the form of sponsorships. Geico is one of TSM’s many sponsors, Samsung has it’s own team, and Coca-Cola has teamed up with Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, to promote it’s live events. Mainstream media is beginning to notice the popularity of eSports as well— theScore, Yahoo, and ESPN have dedicated eSports departments that produce analytical pieces and rankings, just like they would for any other sport. It’s hard to pin down the exact appeal behind eSports. The most obvious explanation is that eSports is gaming at it’s absolute best: players pulling off insane mechanical feats that most could only dream about, teams working as a fully cohesive unit, all backed by exciting and insightful commentary. Professional players elevate the games people know and love into an entirely
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44 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 new realm. But it isn’t just the thrill of top-level play that attracts fans: professional players often stream the games they play, interacting with viewers along the way. Watching a stream makes people feel like they’re part of a community— it’s like watching a professional basketball player train while you two banter back and forth, birthing countless inside jokes all the while. It’s this sense of community and connectedness that makes players seem so much more relatable and human. Athletes are loved not just for their mechanical skill, but also for being relatable personalities whom players can relate to. eSports is just as much about who the players are as it is about the game. But eSports has been met with fierce opposition by many who argue that a sport is defined by the necessity for physical activity, hours upon hours of rigorous training and exercise, and the fact that eSports is nothing more but a game. However, these arguments couldn’t be further from the truth, and are based largely on a pre-existing bias. As demonizing and cheesy as it may sound, many people still view gamers as lazy, unhealthy individuals with unsociable tendencies— hardly somebody you’d want your child to look up to as a role model. Hence, eSports “professionals” must be on the extreme end of the spectrum. They don’t realize that many video game players are anything but: they’re regular people who just happen to enjoy video games. This also discredits the efforts of these athletes, who put in hours and hours of training both in and out of the game. In game, teams often scrim one another, and players climb rankings by playing the game outside of scrimmage time. Piglet, a player for Team Liquid’s League of Legends team, sleeps for only 5 - 6 hours per day, spending his waking moments practising. It’d be wrong to say that players don’t understand life outside the game either, as many are incredibly aware of the importance of both physical and mental health and often go to the gym, as well as undergo psychological training. It’s serious business too— post-game, teams often painstakingly analyze replays of both their own and other team’s games, alongside dedicated analysts and coaches, relentlessly dissecting strategies, mistakes, and breaking games down play-by-play. Yes eSports might not be a very physical sport, but does physicality really define a sport? Why is it then, that activities such as chess, poker, and billiards, are all met with mainstream respect that eSports doesn’t have? While eSports isn’t a very physical activity, it still requires a lot of effort and exertion from a player. Arguably even more than traditional sports, video games often require an incredibly deep amount of strategy, decision-making, and macro-intensive play, all things that these athletes must take into account when in-game. If golf is about taking various factors such as terrain and wind into account and then making decisions based off of that information, eSports is about doing that— but in the span of a split second, not just for yourself, but on behalf of your teammates as well. Most importantly, video games are confusing because they’re the first digital medium to bridge the gap between entertainment and competition— nobody makes money watching films or listening to music competitively. Critics often think about video games as single-player affairs like Mario, when in reality, the eSports scene generally consists only of games that pit players against one another. This necessitates the need for training and constant self-improvement— if a player isn’t performing up to expectation, they will be replaced by somebody better. However, the perspective of these cynics is understandable— their reaction is only natural. eSports is to traditional sports what comic books were to books: initially met with widespread outrage and hostility, but even-
tually accepted. It’s the first time that sports has been met with the prospect of a radically new incarnation, but what’s to say that the two can’t co-exist, much like the previous comic book example? eSports faces several challenges as it continues to grow. Infrastructure is often undeveloped, and it’s often the players that feel the blow. There is no player union that players are protected by, or can go to for advice. Across all levels of competitive play, athletes are often exploited by conniving management, forced to play for months without salary, paying expenses out of their own pocket. It’s troubling, especially for young players who typically come from middle-class households, putting their studies (and future) on hold in order to pursue a risky and relatively short career. Martin Shkreli (notorious for skyrocketing the price of AIDs drug Daraprim) owes several players, coaches, managers, etc, more than USD $75,000. Some managers even match-fix to gain profit, which often leaves players racked with internal guilt— in 2014, Cheon “Promise” Min-ki, a player for South Korean team AHQ, attempted to commit suicide after being forced to participate in match-fixing by his team’s manager. So many companies are looking to get into eSports, even if they’re not financially stable to begin with— KooTV, a streaming platform that sponsored the KOO Tigers, shut down just as the team began to prepare for the world championship, leaving the players without payment, proper training facilities, or even decent accommodation.
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Not only that, but it’s hard to break into the industry— teams rarely bank on undiscovered and potential talent in such a competitive industry, instead preferring veterans with a proven track record. This leaves prospective talent with no chance to develop their skills, widening the already large skill gap between veterans and themselves, making themselves seem even more unemployable. New talent also suffers financially since established teams are less willing to pick them up, forcing these players to join shady teams without proper infrastructure. Most governments do not yet recognize eSports as a valid career. This prevents some players from playing overseas, although this is beginning to change: As an example, the French government proposed a bill to recognize eSports players as athletes, which gives players in France access to pension plans and benefits. It’s undeniable— eSports is very real. It’s disrupting the very foundation of sports in the
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best way possible: creating discourse, providing new forms of entertainment, and inspiring a new generation. What’s really exciting is that the industry is just beginning to warm up, and that the best is yet to happen— if eSports is already selling out Madison Square Garden, imagine where it’ll be in 15, 20 years. Call it what you might, but one thing is certain— eSports is here to stay. Click. Click.
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YEAR 11 ELECTIVE SYSTEM By Evelyn Howe & Lynn Q-won Lee | Photography by Gabriel Lee
Starting from the 2018-19 school year, CIS will replace the IB Middle Years Program for Year 11 students with its own custom system, which will allow students to have more freedom in pursuing the subjects that they are passionate about. The main selling points of this new program are the replacement of the personal project with the “community project” and the introduction of electives within various subjects. This new program aims to build off the learning styles of Hangzhou and hopes to ensure a smoother transition into the DP program. In the following feature, we sat down with Ms. Berns, Head of Learning, as well as teachers from different departments to get a better understanding of this new system and to ask them about their views.
MS. BERNS (HEAD OF LEARNING) E: “Hi Ms.Berns, thank you for meeting with us! Could you tell us about the new elective system? How many classes each subject will offer, and if it will allow the teachers more flexibility?” B: “Okay, so there will be a number of changes in year 11. One of the biggest changes is that the MYP criteria isn’t used in year 11 and that frees up some space for different combinations of subjects. Largely though, the curriculum is going to remain pretty similar. Every student is going to take a full year of the core subjects. One change is that rather than a full year of Design and a full year of Art, students will have to take one semester of each. All students will have two slots per semester for electives, where they can choose what they are taking. Some of the options are going to be new classes that are just being developed, and some are going to be existing classes that you can choose to take on top of your required classes. All of the teachers next year are going to be working on developing new electives, and there is going to be a ‘menu’ of about ten to twelve different courses that students can choose from. You’ll get to choose your first, second, and third choices for electives, and based on the research skills curriculum. It is going to be an inter-discinumber of students signed up for each course, you’ll be plinary curriculum teaching research skills, and this curricplaced in a course.” ulum is also going to include a research project. E: “For example, if I like PD, will there be different Students are going to choose what subject they want to do courses offered in PD?” it on, and it is going to be more academic than the personal project, but also much smaller. So instead of the personal B: “That remains to be seen. For instance, you have to project - which takes more than a year and includes tons take a full year of English, but what they are probably and tons of work, the research project is going to be pretty going to do is have options. So for the first semester, and it’s going to be the culminating proinstead of just taking English, you might choose to take classroom-based, ject of a research class that you take. It’s going to involve a class on ‘English Literature in Translation’ or ‘English a lot less work outside of school, and it’s going to be more Drama’ or a focus on modern poetry. Say that you were geared towards more preparation for Diploma.” a student that was very passionate about Individuals and Societies, you could take History in semester 1, Econom- E: “That’s great! I think that would be beneficial to us.” ics in semester 2, and Geography as one of your electives. But the Individuals and Societies department might L: “So this system is not MYP or IB… it is something that have some new, exciting electives. They might decide CIS has created?” to teach an elective on comparative philosophy, a class that doesn’t exist now, but would be a class that a student B: “It is a CIS developed program. The philosophy behind could take as an elective.” it is still going to be very much based on the IB philosophy, as we are doing IBMYP from year 7 to year 10, and E: “That’s very interesting. To confirm, is this new sysIB Diploma for year 12 and 13. In year 11, we will still be tem effective in 2018?” focusing on the IB Learner Profile and the IB approaches to teaching and learning, but we don’t have to use the B: “Yes, so your last year of MYP will be year 10, and assessment criteria. That’s been a big challenge the major change that will be happening is that there will MYP for students from year 11 into year 12, because be no personal project. Instead, there will be something they’ve had 5moving years of experience with MYP, and then sudcalled the community project.” denly ‘BOOM!’ it’s very very different. So we’re looking at year 11 as a transition year, where we can take some of L: “Really?” the best elements from the MYP, and some of the best elefrom the DP, particularly in terms of how we assess B: “In year 11, there will be no personal project. Instead ments things, and make it so that there is a smoother transition.” of a personal project, there is going to be a (focus on a)
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47 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 MS.WONG (HEAD OF FILM) L: “Hi Ms.Wong, how do you think this curriculum can affect the students?” W: “I think the idea of the Year Eleven curriculum design is to give students more choice and to stop the restrictive assessment criteria Year 11 MYP would have. Also a lot of it is to build off this fabulous program in Hangzhou. It seems very counterintuitive to have this very free and very explorative curriculum in Hangzhou and come back to something that is very rigid. I think at CIS we are trying to embrace this more creative and student directed way of learning that is established in the Hangzhou program. I think it would be great because students have a lot more choice to follow their interests and there also then able to focus more on decisions they would be making at the end of year 11. It would also allow them to think about what subjects they want to do in IB. I also think the other thing that CIS is really trying to push is integration with the community and this program really opens up a lot of opportunities for that.”
K: “In terms of enhancing the learning experiences, were looking at ways to integrate the Hangzhou program and supporting the learning from there back here. As I was a teacher in Hangzhou W: “Yes. So you know I think this 3 years, I can see some very is a system all teachers are general- for good benefits from that system. I ly very excited about, for different believe that the learning will reasons, but for me personally it's a also slightly different, so far as it really progressive way of looking at be won’t not be about the grades, beeducation. It puts more emphasis on cause MYP is very heavily driven content knowledge, which we are by grades, whereas in Hangzhou really good at, it also gives students many things were about experiopportunities to really think about ences, learning, collaboration. We what they are interested in. Teachwant to look at things that excite ers are excited to learn about this students, rather than telling them new way of learning because we what to do. I think in those terms, do our jobs well when you guys are the learning will be very valuaexcited about your learning.” ble.” L : “Ms. Wong, are you excited to be the first ones to try this new system? Especially because this is a new system that CIS developed.”
L: “Great, I think that is a great way for students to learn. So, this system will help students crossover from Hangzhou to Year 11 at CIS, but does it also help students transition smoothly into Year 12?”
E: “I think it’s great that this new system can benefit students in many different ways. What are some ideas that the film department have for classes and film curriculum?” W: “We have a lot of great ideas. I think one of the ones I’m most interested in pursuing is creating a feature film. A 120 minute film that is going to be made across a year and picked up by different students across the two semesters. MR. KARENA (HEAD OF MUSIC) But the idea is that from conception, to marketing, to production, and then postproduction, that we would try and produce a film. How would we do that? Well, we would obviously make great use of the great facilities that have been newly built, but also using some new connections we have made with the HK film community - as we know HK has a really thriving film industry, so we want to tap into those resources and opportunities that they allow us as well. We are also thinking about something that connects us to the community a little bit. We would do that by looking at commercial production and how films could be used in marketing and business contexts.” L: “It would be really cool if we had a class to make commercials.” W: “Yeah I know! I think it would be great.” E: “I’m really exciting for this new system and I’m so excited to be the first ones to try it.”
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E: “Since this is a new system in Year 11, how does this system affect the students? Does it enhance learning experiences?”
K: “Yes, I think so. I can only speak on terms of the arts program, but the way it’s been shaped is to think of ways having the skills which are necessary for diploma. By skills I mean the concepts, the ideas, the talent, the building blocks that are needed for Year 12. Especially skills like how to manage your time, how to become a more effective learner, what ways do you learn best, things like that.” L: “Yes, those are important skills to learn. So is the curriculum different teaching wise?” K: “It should not be. One of the faults of the MYP program is that it is not tailored so that you learn what is necessary for the diploma program. I think a good teacher that teaches both programs would know the path needed to flow from the MYP program into the diploma program. But often we are trapped by the fact we have assessments and rubrics. It narrows the learning down. I think we should be looking at how the concepts are shaped how the concepts are learned, how you make progress from learning these concepts rather than saying: Okay, this is what you must learn, you either learnt it or you didn’t.”
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E: “Hi Mr.Tsang, how do you think the elective system will affect students?” T: “I think it's unknown, but if it is done very well the effects would be quite positive. I say this because there is a lot of freedom for these electives and essentially a group of teachers have been selected already and they just started working on creating these new courses. They are not going to your normal English or Math classes - they can be specialist courses, anyting that those teachers are very interested and passionate about teaching. It can really be quite diverse. ”
Mr. Tsang (Maths teacher)
IMAGE OF MR TSANG
L: “Do you have any ideas for an elective class?” T: A group of teachers have been selected they volunteered to be part of the team that design courses, but there is not a teacher from every department. For example, there is not a maths teacher within that group. But if I were to do a math course, I would do problem solving. I would do these hard questions and every lesson we would look at some tricky interesting questions and we L: “That sounds so interesting! Are there really no math related would sit and explore and try lots of differ- electives?” ent approaches. T: “Well, not necessarily. There is a science teacher that is part of that group - Mr.Mum. So he is also a maths teacher, so he could design an elective that is science and math related. But I could well see that there wouldn't be a maths elective. There is one issue with that - I think especially in Asia, with Chinese parents, they think maths is really important. So if there was a maths elective, all the parents would want their child to do that, and all the other electives kind of miss out. So that’s something to think about.”
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49 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 E：您想要開什麼課程？
張老師 (Head of Year 11-13 Chinese)
Z：在漢基，從十一年級到十三年級語言 A的課程我都教過。我觀察到了十一年級 語言A的學生比較薄弱的地方是如何寫簡 單的文學分析或文學評論。很多學生很有 創意，文學創作很好，但是如果讓他們去 寫一篇文學分析或文學評論的話，他們感 覺比較困難，首先是語言跟不上，其次是 他們對於那些文化背景較深的文學作品缺 乏深層次的理解。所以我個人可能想去開 設一門“閱讀與鑑賞”的課程，專門引導 學生如何去閱讀一篇文章，之後，引導他 們如何撰寫一篇簡單的文學分析，或文學 評論。這樣，可以讓他們在11年級打下一 點文學鑑賞的基礎，為他們繼續學習DP 語言A課程作些鋪墊。 L：您覺得這個新的系統會讓這些學生更 加準備去DP嗎？ Z：我個人認為是這樣，因為我覺得學校 在準備開設自己校本課程的時候一定會要 去思考怎樣讓該課程和DP課程更好地銜 接起來，每個學科在開設自己的課程的時 候都會為這種銜接做準備。 E：那您對這個新的系統是不是很興奮？ 因為您是第一個去試一試它？ Z：儘管人們常說萬事開頭難。不過，新 的事物總能帶給你新的體驗。所以，對我 來說，新的課程讓我更加激動，因為它會 讓我去嘗試一些新的東西，體驗一些新的 教法。 我們跟張老師談話後，我們發現中文部 會開的課程是一些會幫助學生們在DP的 課程。
We were also able to talk to some students about this new elective system. One student said: “I think the elective system is a really great idea. For Year 11’s I think it is very important that they enjoy what they do, so they can have an idea of what they want to do in University and after that.” Another student said: “I feel like not having the personal project will be a good change. I also like how there will be more specific courses that we can choose from. Especially for art, I don’t like to draw, but I don’t necessarily not like to sculpt or paint. But I hold back from choosing art, because I’m scared that we would have to do drawing and I strongly dislike that. So, I think it would be nice to have more specific electives.” After talking to students, we could only deduce that they were nothing but excited about this upcoming system and the benefits that it will bring, such as less stress and more freedom. The general sentiment amongst students and teachers was the same: the new Year 11 program is meant to help better integrate Hangzhou students back into CIS as the Hangzhou program begins to grow increasingly prevalent at CIS, as well as to prepare students for a smoother transition to the DP by teaching them skills they’ll need to succeed. By giving students a chance to pursue their own interests, they can discover their own passions and develop themselves further. Hopefully, these changes will leave students feeling more refreshed and enriched in Year 11.
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50 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
是總統又 怎 By Chris Huang
美國 新任總統特朗普雖然入住 白宮不到一個月，但他在互聯網上的 言論和行政命令已引起世界各地的異 議、擔憂與恐懼。其中最惹爭議的就 是1月27號下達的“限制令”----即 暫禁全球難民和西亞北非七個穆斯林 國家公民入境美國，即使他們持有美 國綠卡也會被擋在美國之外。此令一 出便引起世界各地的抗議，從紐約到 倫敦、邁阿密到巴黎蔓延開來。除了 民眾街頭抗議，州縣法院也有行動派 提出反對，擾攘結果就是限制令暫時 凍結。看來外國吃瓜群眾的行動力很 強啊。
筆下多是恐慌、絕望，像英國《衛 報》說“感覺像世界 日”，《紐約 時報》與《經濟學人》則大篇幅預測 特朗普將帶來經濟、環境、人權的負 面影響。但特朗普真的會像他們說的 那樣，把美國帶向窮途 路嗎？奧巴 馬下台時說“這並不是世界 日”， 我認為正解應當是：不管是誰當總 統，美國的製度永遠會保守人民的利 益。可有朋友說，儘管如此，國會里 共和黨佔多數，所以特朗普才有膽子 自把自為，他有黨友撐腰啊。其實如 果了解美國的國會、政府與法院到底 有多少權力，三權分立的製衡作用， 就會知道人們的擔心是否有必要了。
作為留學的美籍華人，在天朝感受到 的是不一樣的氣氛----總統禁令竟然 被凍結？這國家不得亂了麼？太叫人 擔心了！其實特朗普大選獲勝，媒體
美國的製度比較特別，它是立法、司 法和行政相互制衡的三權分立制度。 這樣的系統，意味著代表行政權力的 政府，代表立法權的國會和代表司法
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權的法院都沒有絕對的權力能夠獨斷 專行。作為總統，他確實可以提出行 政命令，但這行政命令只要被法院質 疑，就得暫緩推行，總統也只能等 待。國會想立法的話，也要過兩關， 即法院不用憲法解釋權和違憲審查權 來質疑它。而法院雖然能夠對有關爭 議進行最終裁決，但它卻不能提出立 法或是行政命令。換句話說，不管哪 個權力機構想要在這樣的製度下推行 自己的主張，絕對是一件吃力 必能 討好的事。 這就是特朗普的限制令一遭到質疑便 被暫時凍結的原因。作為一個強勢的 總統，特朗普想必對此十分不爽。可 是不爽歸不爽，若一意孤行，是要冒 被彈劾和罷免風險的。特朗普愛現、 強勢，一上台就掀起各樣浪花，但美 國不是沒見過興風作浪的總統，尼
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又 怎樣？ 克森、克林頓，還有早期的詹森、這 三位總統或因公務或因私德遭到彈劾 調查。尼克森是因為涉嫌水門竊聽事 件被彈劾阻撓司法、濫用總統職權和 蔑視國會命令，最後是主動辭職避免 被罷免的命運；克林頓則是因為與白 宮女實習生萊溫斯基的性醜聞被控誤 導大陪審團和說服他人撒謊；而詹森 是由於在南方重建上採取妥協立場， 與國會的共和黨議員意見不合，加上 經參議院批准就開除了陸軍部長， 被眾議院以違反任職期憲法等11條罪 狀彈劾，結果以一票之差避開下台命 運。可見，總統有失誤，國會與法院 不會放過。特朗普再能折騰，也不會 例外。總統的權利也就這麼多，大家 有什麼好擔心的呢？
芝加哥、紐約等城市已經公開表明不 會聽從特朗普的難民禁令。而西雅圖 一名法官就下令在全國范圍內臨時阻 止實施特朗布的限制令。白宮對此提 出上訴，但遭到巡迴法院的駁回。目 前，國土安全部已經恢復了接受來自 那七個國家人民的正常移民程式。能 被國會與法院制衡，能被不同的州縣 無視，特朗普這樣的人是總統又怎 樣？
特朗普才發令，但已有州縣對特朗普 的政策表示不滿、抗拒執行。加州、
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52 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
談特首候選人的
教育政綱
近幾年來，有關香港教育制度的問題爭議不斷，教育局的 政策更被評「完全離地」。其中，TSA(全港性系統評估) 和學生自殺的個案增加的問題最令人擔憂，這些問題都 充分反映了香港教育制度的不全。 我們都親身經歷過入 學，考試分數排名，同學們之間的競爭等等的壓力。很多 低年級的同學們更因要應付種種的學術問題，年紀很少 便已壓力過大，失去了應有的童年。因此，我們作為學生 們，更應該留意今屆特首選舉候選人的教育政綱。雖然這 些政策對漢基這個小圈子影響不大，身為香港市民，我們 不得就手旁觀，嘗試去了解候選人的政綱，是關心香港 來的發展的第一步。 三位候選人的教育政綱都擁有相同之處，他們都針對著解 決學生身心健康、全港性系統評估、科學、科技、工 程 及數學（STEM）、教育資源等的問題。 香港學生的身心健康近年明顯惡化，自殺個案不斷發生。 教育局上年針對這問題向全港公營及直資中小學每校發放
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By Natalie Chak Photography by Ryan Chiao
五千元的特別津貼，資助學校辦健康心理活動。5000元對 學校來說的確不能做什麼，這解決方法根 ‘治標不治 ’，無法減少學生壓力。曾俊華的政綱表示會重整應試 文化，減低以考試為 的內容，以維護學童健康為首任。 林鄭月娥則表示會推動學校進行生命教育，提升學童的 情緒健康與抗逆力。胡國興則沒有特別針對學生心身健康 的政策。單以政綱來說，曾俊華的措施比林鄭月娥的更有 效解決學生壓力的根 來源。香港的考試範圍廣大，在有 限的教學時間內學生要學會的內容多不勝數，為師生們增 添了無數的壓力。因此，減低改善現有的考試制度是必須 的。增加生命教育雖然同樣重要，但若只注重提供生命教 育而不理會壓力的來源，恐怕這政策漠視了考試制度的不 全。曾俊華更有提到杜絕學前教育機械式的操練，但他的 政綱裡並沒有解釋他如何會改變這教學模式。 另一個近期最具爭議的話題是保留全港系統性評估的必要 性。三位候選人都同意取消或擱置小三的TSA,可見他們都 認為TSA不該強行實施， 免得為低年級的同學們增添壓
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力。 香港學生的學業成績一直在世界上都佔有優勢，但過分重 視學業成績，除了令學生壓力大以外，香港在STEM, 體 育，藝術等方面也可能因此比其他國家落後。三位候選人 似乎都了解這一點，所以他們都將分配資源推動STEM教育 放在政綱裏，盡早把電腦程式編寫(coding)引進學校課 程，以培訓下一代的科技精英。 每個學生都希望被香港的‘三大’（HKU，CUHK，HKUST) 獲取，但大學學位有限，大學學位一年比一年得到，很多 學生因此認為進大學是遙不可及的願望而感到氣餒。現實 上當然不是每個學生都能在香港的教育制度下成功，而香 港政府應該為這些學生提供大學以外的選擇，例如提早培 訓學生們的職業興趣，提供更多職尊教育的機會。曾俊華 表示會參考德國職業教育制度，其他兩位候選人也同意及 早發掘學生的職業興趣，開辦技能訓練課程擴闊學生選 擇。政府更應廣泛宣傳職業教育， 嘗試移除職業教育和
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副學士等課程所受到的偏見，令學生們明白這些選擇不只 是為成績差的學生而起的途徑，改變‘大學是學生唯一出 路’這傳統的觀念。 總括而言，三位候選人解決教育問題的方法某程度上十分 相同，他們都針對著學生心理問題入手，也一致同意推動 更多的職業教育機會，亦有幫助特殊及少數族裔、學生， 駕駛培訓，增添教學資源等的政策。教育制度無可否應不 是一朝一夕能改變的問題，壓力過大的問題也不單只發生 在香港，其他競爭性強的國家如韓國和新加玻也同樣出現 學這些問題，但從候選人們的政綱上的確都能看到些能有 效改善這制度的方法。當然，措施能否在現實上實現是另 一個問題，過去的經歷也教會了市民政綱上所寫的東西難 免會過分理想。在這篇文章出版時，香港如無意外應有了 新的特首，只望我們 來的特首並不只會紙上談兵，能做 到他／她對香港人的承諾。
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CV HUNTER By BySabrina Sabrina Ma Ma Illustrationby byKristen Kirsten Wong Wong Illustration
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55 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 You’re in Year 10. This is the year your dad gave you your very own hunting rifle during Christmas, you’re thrilled! The opportunities are endless! He began to teach you how to aim, how to shoot, how to deal with recoil. You started to practice, taking aim at your targets and pulling the trigger. Sometimes, you’d shoot and miss, but it was no big deal. After all, that’s a part of the learning experience. Then came Year 11. You noticed some of your friends started to get in the game as well, hunting season slowly creeping up on you. You all went your separate ways, playing innocent. The season has changed, and the winds of the IB mercilessly blow at you— hunting season has finally come. You all grab your rifles and head to the forest, for now is the time to put your skills to use! In your head, visions of heads and horns of great beasts slain, mounted on plaques of bronze and mahogany; or rather, credentials in Times New Roman displayed on a white plane. For those of you who already know, bear with me as I reiterate the purpose of a CV. At this point in our lives, our CVs are crucial to the next step in our lives: university. Building up your CV shows the university your love for community service, your passion for politics, your musical talent that is bound only by the grades of ABRSM. It shows them who you are outside of your academics. In essence, it should be a reflection of your true self. But then again, when did being “your true self” ever get anybody anywhere? Enter: The CV hunter. These people join arbitrary clubs and groups with the sole intention of cramming more credentials on their CV, confident that their broad, diverse range of interests will make them look more appealing to university admission offices. In reality though, half-heartedly participating in a glut of activities will not help you in the long run— in fact, oversaturating your CV might even send the wrong message.
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Imagine trying to navigate a website filled with ads. You’re desperately trying to find the real, working download button, but every time you click anything all you get are pop-ups. Over time though, you begin to recognize which buttons are fake— we all know from experience that the flashing red “CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD” button is most likely not the real one— and which one is legitimate. Likewise with university admission officers, you’d think that we’d have realised by now that admissions officers can just as easily sniff out which download buttons are illegitimate; yet we still make the decision to needlessly flood the entire page with buttons. It’s important to understand that in a school environment, it is inevitable that we all hop on the CV bandwagon sooner or later— and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The people around you will enter this extracurricular “puberty”, and in time, you will too. There are two types of people who you’ll come to meet: The Builders, who put actual time and effort into the things they are interested in and want to do, and The Hunters, who do only the things that will sparkle on their resume— they join a plethora of clubs, sporadically attend lunchtime meetings, and go to events only when there are ulterior perks or photos to be taken. Think of the Hunter as the slacker of a group, the person who doesn’t carry their weight in a group project. We’ve all been that person, and we’ve also been the person dragging them across the finish line. And we all know that either way, it’s not a great feeling to have.
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56 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 I took to Google to help me understand what CV plumping is, and the results I got essentially tell you the same things: get an internship, volunteer, join clubs, and raise your GPA. Two of these really struck me. This isn’t anything new— we all know about joining clubs and volunteering, since we’ve been doing that since Year 10. What really caught my attention was a sub-point made about internships: that you can and should get help from family and friends to get an internship. Despite how primitive this may seem, connections will usually get you farther than hard work will. The point boils down to this: Good for you if you’re very well connected… but tough luck if you’re not. Coming from CIS, none of us can say that we’re not well connected, even if some of us have to take a few detours in places where others can jet straight to the top of the mountain. That being said, there is one blindingly obvious fault that nobody talks about in gaining internships through personal connections. Primarily, the purpose of an internship acquired through family and friends is to secure a position within a prestigious firm, and then shadow an employee or do basic tasks. As an example, let’s say you got an internship at a big name, international company— what else can you do besides delivering mail, making the occasional coffee, and watching men and women in suits use words beyond your comprehension, talk about statistics, and point at graphs that you can’t even begin to decipher. What if the position requires certain qualifications that you just don’t have? Look at the medical field— you’re not even allowed to take someone’s temperature or blood pressure without a degree in nursing. So really, what else can you do other than paperwork? Despite us being aware that our trivial contributions to these multimillion dollar firms will amount to only keeping employees awake and running mail, we still do it, simply for the prestige that “work experience” at a distinguished, big name firm gets you, of course. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to instead choose a smaller firm and get the hands-on, involved experience you want there? Isn’t gaining valuable training and knowledge about the industry you’re interested in, instead of being a part time barista-cum-mailman at a big firm, more beneficial for you? Obviously there are exceptions, but as a general assumption, just because you’ve got a big corporate name on your CV, it doesn’t mean that your “work experience” was any more worthwhile and insightful than an internship in a smaller, less competitive firm.
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“It was a truly humbling experience”— the 6 words every student has said at some point during their service career. At the top 5% of Hong Kong’s population, getting off our high horses to do something good for the community seems completely out of reach for us. While it is true that the IB makes community service mandatory, this doesn’t mean that community service should be seen as nothing but a task on a checklist. It’s entirely possible to find community service that will genuinely engage you. There are students who genuinely care about what they’re contributing to society, students who care about the children they tutor every Monday, or the elderly they visit every Friday— there are truly some tremendous successes with service initiatives within our school. But on the other end of the spectrum, there are also people who don’t care at all. There are those who will go to extreme lengths for a rite of passage, just so that they can write about the experience, or even create their own initiatives for the sake of lauding themselves with the title of CEO and founder. In a similar vein, there are also extra-curricular groups and clubs that people join to exemplify their political and social awareness. These activities all undoubtedly started as genuine, sincere, and motivated awareness groups, but eventually morphed into yet another stereotypical group project as the Hunters joined in droves, riding the coattails of the members who are forced to carry them on their backs. By being truly involved with and committed to your activities, not only will you showcase human qualities in this metal-on-metal mechanical world, but these experiences will bring with them genuine outcomes, such as the development of teamwork and leadership skills. To admissions officers, active involvement with your extra-curriculars looks so much more appealing than countless empty titles and clubs.
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Raised in this fast-paced concrete jungle, we’ve become disoriented in our ambitions. We’re brought up in a society where success is measured by whether or not you fall under the 3 big industries: medicine, law and business. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason; our parents have implanted this idea of success within us, and as such, we are defined and confined by these staple occupations. Our tunnel vision limits our scope; we feel obligated to fit into society’s small box. Trying to twist and fold into the box compels us to join groups and volunteer work that doesn’t interest us. This contortion eventually distorts our mentality around our prospective career paths. But what if your passion lies in something entirely different? Out of the fear of failure— that taking the wrong step (see: pursuing a field that you feel strong interest towards)— will relegate you to a life of mediocrity and disappointment, we put our heads down and accept our fate, walking down the traditional paths to success that a thousand others have also traversed. While it might be true that doctors, lawyers, and business people might have higher rates of success, this isn’t to say that one cannot find success in alternative fields. People often neglect the diversity of jobs available, often boxing themselves into an idea of what all jobs in a certain field are like. If you want to be an artist (a ridiculed career path), your success wouldn’t have to come from selling self-produced fine art. You could find work in video game design, design firms, and advertising firms, etc. It’s not a far-flung daydream to pursue what you’re passionate about, and be successful at the same time.
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How can one— namely myself— whose mantra is “fake it till you make it”, shed light on a serious, overarching issue such as this? The answer is facetiously and hypocritically. My dismay for this social phenomenon limits my personal contribution, however the hypocrisy lies with the fact that even I cannot admit that I do not “hunt”. As this classic Latin proverb so very elegantly puts it, “if it’s stupid and it works, it ain’t stupid”. Despite the incessant self-promotion a CV is built upon, if the self promotion gets you actual promotions, then why not, right? As Alan Moore said in V for Vendetta, “You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it”. If all we ever do— because it’s all we know how to do— is do things just to plump up our CVs, do we really gain an understanding of ourselves through this process that is supposed to benefit us? Our sense of identity becomes increasingly nullified as as we diminish our personal flair to conform to society. CV plumping is inevitable, but being able to CV build instead of hunt is where we should be. In the midst of building your CV, keep in touch with yourself and your own goals. A key concept in economics is product differentiation; likewise you should differentiate yourself from others who have the same groups, the same clubs, the same 6 words in their service requirement. Give universities and future employers a reason to admit you, a reason to hire you. For the same reasons that vegetarians don’t eat meat, do things because you want to. Be a Builder, not a Hunter.
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CIS SPEAKS!
How does CIS encourage or impede the growth of these learner-educator relationships? A Take On The Relationship Between Students, Teachers, and Learning Spaces in CIS A Transcribed Dialogue Between Phoebe Chan (Y11), Dr. Varro, and Mr. Svinhufvud Transcribed by Katherine Wu (Y11) P: Ever since its construction and unveiling, there has inevitably been a lot of discussion surrounding the New Building. I think there is a lot of complaining going on because that is the first response to change that most people have. In regards to students being able to visit and access teachers that they wish to meet, there is indeed the whole Google Calendar to help alleviate the problem of overbooking teachers. However, even with this introduction of technology, the perception is still that teachers are further away in terms of how we can contact them. For instance, when we go up to the office we have to ask the receptionist whether they’re there, and the steps to get to where you want to go are just a lot more complicated. V: One thing that we would like to propose is that either other platforms for leadership or newspapers get together with a couple of students (to discuss this issue). Because the students know what aspects are the most inconvenient and are hard to overcome. You can come up with a couple of ideas that we, the school, could consider. S: One of the things I’d like to add is that, well, I understand that now you have to go to the 9th floor and talk to the receptionist to check if the teacher is there, and we feel that that’s the best system apart from students just walking in and walking around to see if their teachers are present. Quite often you might walk up there and they won’t even be sure. Some faculty offices in the past were quite approachable; you could perhaps walk straight into them. Some offices, on the other hand, weren’t as much; some had signs that said “do not enter”, knock”, “wait”, etc. I understand that this (current implementation) may feel a bit impersonal, but I would like to find solutions for the students. P: Right! Another thing is that in regards to the relationship between the learners, the educators, and the space, one opinion that I’ve seen very commonly shared between all the students is that the classrooms sort of look like a hospital? The entire space sort of looks like a hospital. V: You are the second person who has said that in 24 hours! The other person was a mathematics teacher. Exactly as critical, but his take was: “I put up my decorations, I put up my posters, but somebody removes them. I don’t know who.” I do understand where he’s coming from because currently this is not regulated in any way. Say, if you walk into a classroom and you don’t like what’s on the wall you take it off without consideration given to anybody or anything else. It’s a very good point. S: I think what plays into that as well is that previously, teacher would have, more or less, their own classrooms. But what we’re going for this year is that students won’t have to travel as much. In fact, some of the Y8’s and 9’s have their “own classrooms”.
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P: I had no idea!
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S: So what’s happening here is that the teachers are travelling. Students don’t waste as much time going to and from their lockers in order to make it to class on time. Therefore, there is a lot of convenience in this aspect, for students. V: Speaking of which, one thing I would really appreciate would be to receive more proposals from you guys. The student council and the school magazine are existing sources of ideas from students, and have caused “revolutions” to start in the past. But I think students should take ownership for these types of discussion since it is really important, and I’ve been here for ages. I’ve been at CIS for 20 years, and as always, the happiness of the students is always valued. There are so many things that we can change, but a lot of these discussions should come from students, to avoid any more guessing from teachers about what your generation feels about new developments in school life.
How does academic dishonesty fare at CIS? How to avoid cheating, plagarism, and more Justin Ngai (Y11) and Mr. Anderson J: Hi Mr. Anderson! Could you tell us a little about yourself? A: Well, that’s a big question. I assume you mean to talk about my professional life. I’m wrapping up my 24th year of teaching this year (yikes!). I started my career as an English Literature and Composition teacher where I taught students mainly of the upper secondary level (grades 9 through 12). About eight years ago I pursued my master’s degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Washington, which brings me here to CIS doing what I do. I’ve taught in four schools in Washington state, a school in Seoul, and now at CIS. J: As we know, you have had experience at CIS as a teacher librarian for a few years now. In your experience as a teacher of library resources and media literacy, what have you mostly seen regarding academic dishonesty in our student community? A: On the whole, I would say that our school is not unlike any other school where I’ve taught. Most academic integrity cases stem from not knowing. Not all students (nor teachers, for that matter) have a firm grip on expectations and norms when it comes what it truly means to be information literate and an ethical researcher. Unfortunately for some students, that lack of understanding is reflected in their mistakes, and those mistakes sometimes turn into cases of academic dishonesty. There is a very small number of students who are up to more diabolical deeds and strive to cheat the system. That is rare, but it does happen. In both cases--inadvertent or intentional academic misconduct--the result is the same. Because intent is nearly impossible to prove, there is minimal distinction between the two. Ignorance is not a reasonable plea, and open-faced lying is simply out of bounds. As a secondary school, our role (and mine as a librarian) is to create opportunities where students put quality information literacy strategies to work. Organisation, management, usage, attribution, and production of quality research are skills that should be practiced across the curriculum. Building scaffolds of research support from Year 7 onwards is essential. All subject areas should hold consistent and firm expectations of students when it comes to the quality of resources they use and how they attribute those resources. We should increase expectations as students grow older, but in a system that does that well, those standards should become second nature.
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60 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 J: How has the use of technology such as Turnitin and online plagiarism checkers impacted the issue of academic dishonesty at CIS? A: Turnitin is merely a tool that reflects results of a textual analysis. It is all-too-frequently used as a “gotcha” option to catch students doing wrong. There is frequently a mistaken assumption that there is an “acceptable” percentage of matches in an essay that one can reach to “pass.” The fact is that it is all situational. For example, a student whose paper has a six percent “match” may think that all is fine. However, what if that six percent all came from one resource and was copied and pasted directly into the essay? Is that okay? Well, the answer is no, it’s not okay. On a similar note, what if a paper comes back with a twenty percent match? Perhaps that twenty percent comes from 30 different resources and each match is properly quoted, attributed, or uses common language to express an idea. In that case, the student did not plagiarise, but the high percentage match would have raised eyebrows. Our obligation is to use Turnitin as a teaching tool. Like all technology, we cannot take the results of what the software tells us as gospel truth. We should be using Turnitin to provide examples, to discuss those moments of inadvertent misattribution. I don’t think we do enough of that. I’m not a fan of Turnitin for the younger years because it places too much reliance on the technology rather than on the skill. Students who learn and practice the art of gathering, using, and attributing quality information rarely have need for a tool like Turnitin. J: The importance of avoiding academic dishonesty is something we all must know and respect as students, but are there any cases in which one can unintentionally be academically dishonest? If so, what are some tips to avoid these situations? A: Sometimes it seems that hardest task for a student is to ask a question when they truly don’t know the answer. Those moments of unintentional academic dishonesty are frequently fixed by asking the librarian or teacher for support. If you don’t know, ask. J: For some of the younger students - the importance of academic honesty, especially during the Diploma Program can be crucial. Exactly how important can it be in one’s secondary school years? A: Academic honesty is about culture. It is ingrained and expected from the young years through the upper years. There is no reason to believe that it is more crucial in the upper years. While the stakes may be higher in the Diploma years, the expectations should be the same in Year 7. Of course, the younger years require more intentional instruction and guidance. We need to slow down, explain, and let the culture of academic honesty become second nature to our younger learners just as we do for the older learners. It’s distressing when I hear someone claim to a student entering Year 12 that, “Now it (academic honesty) really matters.” What a disservice! It’s as though we are admitting that academic honesty only has meaning when we are older but not when we are younger. While our approach may be softer and more patient in the early years, we still need to build toward a standard set of expectations. Each year the stakes may rise a bit, but the message must be consistent from day one.
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61 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 J: In the past, there have already been sessions to help start a conversation about this issue at CIS. What do you think are some ways to continue this conversation in the future? A: That’s a good question. I’m not a big believer in annual meetings about these topics. We leave ourselves with no defenceless if we rely on an annual “talk” about doing the right thing. How does that permeate our mindset? How does that alter the perspective of someone who continually skirts the ethical edges? I think our greater challenge is emphasising academic integrity across the entire CIS curriculum. Students are well aware that academic honesty may be a point of emphasis in some classes and not so much in others. They’ve learned to game the system. What I would like to see is that the culture of honesty works across all lines. It starts with consistent and fairly applied expectations. While there will always be the outliers who seek the easiest path to a goal, I sincerely believe that most students work to do the right thing. The question is how do you get a whole system to buy in? J: In general, what is the one piece of advice you’d give to students who are either starting, in the middle of, or ending the years of their research-based learning? A: The amount of information at our fingertips is astounding. We can access and produce more information than we ever have at any point in human history. So, does “research-based learning” have a finite role in our lives? I would argue that everything we do is research-based and requires the skills of information literacy. In my daily existence, I am constantly looking something up. Restaurant recommendations, potential topics for a Chinese EE, background information on a musical act, the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the statistics line on today’s NBA playoff game are examples of topics I’ve looked up just since this morning. Only two of them had something to do with my school work. However, I looked into each of those topics with the same amount of care and thoughtfulness. What I am trying to say is that “research-based learning” and ethical use of information is not limited to our school experiences. The ethical use and production of information does not have an on/off switch. It should be a core to our being.
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62 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 How should students deal with the topic of student suicides? The role of social media in dialogue about suicide. An Email Conversation Between Constance Lam (Y12) and Mr. Luceno Dear Mr. Luceno, Thank you (and Ms. Uttam and the rest of the counselling team) for discussing the student suicide at Times Square today in assembly. I’m grateful that you have acknowledged the importance of discussing suicide and mental health within our community, and am aware that the school can provide support when need be. However, you stated that discussing student suicides on social media was counterintuitive, despite the fact that social media is, and has always been, a platform for effective, open and inclusive discussion. You justified this claim by stating that posting our opinions on social media regarding the student suicide epidemic would be “sensationalising” and “trivialising” the scope and magnitude of the issue. This is by no means an accusatory email, thus I would appreciate if you could clarify what you meant by that statement. If you are referring to the local news media, that is an understandable claim. I too am disappointed by the local media’s coverage of the Times Square suicide (particularly the lack of regard for the victim’s privacy, divulging of personal information without consulting the victim’s school or parent). If you are referring to something else, I am at a loss as to how one would sensationalise and trivialise a matter as pressing as this. Though some individuals may feel resentment and anger, which you mentioned earlier, none of these sentiments have been expressed within our school community. As far as can be seen on social media, there has been an outpouring of compassion and a burgeoning awareness of the need for open discussion about mental health and the Hong Kong student suicides. At times, social media can be rife with vitriol and acrimony, but this does not appear to be one of those instances. Very few problems can be solved simply by silence and denial, and above all else, social media is a platform for reflection and positive change, which can provide a whole host of opportunities to help us learn and to grow. In addition to the above, I have a suggestion for CHOICES sessions in the future. I look forward to see what you and the rest of the Student Affairs/Wellbeing team have planned, and I hope that future sessions will entail open discussions that destigmatize mental health, particularly within our community (inside and outside school). For future reference, parents would benefit from seminars about mental health, so as to decrease existing stigmas and eliminate social taboos. Transparency is imperative in order for successful communication among faculty members, parents and students. I know that among the 120 students in my year group, and the various members of the faculty, we are capable of making this happen. I hope you can answer my question, and if you have any of your own, feel free to ask me. Best regards, Constance Lam
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Dear Constance, Thank you for your email for sharing your thoughts and suggestions with me. They help me challenge my thinking, encourage me to do more research and improve the program we offer to students. After the suicide of the 15-year-old boy over the weekend, there were many students who took the social media posting photos and pictures, and describing the event. Simply posting doesn’t equate to sensationalizing or trivializing. Knowing CIS students, I’m sure that much of the communicating was supportive and loving. However, some of those posts were critical of the boys actions, some of them came from our own students. If we learnt about them we asked that they be taken down. It’s really difficult to know what is appropriate and what is inappropriate to post in these circumstances. For the most part, discussing the suicide online is harmless to most individuals. However, the concern isn’t for those who have a strong sense of connectedness, but rather, those who are vulnerable. We know from research that as posting goes up so do subsequent suicides. The issue is one of “contagion.” This is so nebulous, and there is no hard and fast cause-and-effect relationship between certain things that are posted, topics that are discussed online, and how they will impact vulnerable individuals. I am not an expert on the topic of suicide prevention, my studies and research tell me that after suicide we must err on the side of caution. It’s difficult to include every scenario, every type of post, and what will have a positive and negative impact; i.e. how those feelings and sentiments will be interpreted and internalized by others. That’s why I maintain that the conversations we have surrounding the suicide should be ones of love, hope, and support to our friends and families. We have to really consider what purpose discussing the details of the suicide actually serves, especially given that information is readily available online through news media anyway. Vulnerable individuals will often turn to social media to look for support during times of grief or sorrow; what we also know is that social media often provides a false sense of connectedness that only in person relationships can offer. This is all to say that when people post online after a suicide, however innocuous the post might seem, we just don’t know the impact it’ll have. Please come in to chat with me, Ms. Chang, or Dr. Mok if you want to discuss this more, or about anything really. As for the CHOICES session in the future, I hope we can facilitate a discussion that people find meaningful. Please let me know if this addresses your question and if you’d like to talk some more. I’m always available to you. Sincerely, Mr. Luceno
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A Little Over-Extrapolation
On Chinese History By Bryan Cheng Illustration by Kristen Wong
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Let’s begin with a disclaimer: As a student who doesn’t even take any history subject in the IB, this article is very probably fraught with errors. As for the argument— well, it’s the perspective of a 17 year old who only really thought it through on the fly during one Year 8 History class. Let’s just see how this goes. Ancient Chinese history, with its many dynasties and myriad emperors, is probably a headache to every student trying to study it (not to mention memorising it for your next in-class essay). However, like all history, going beyond the school syllabus (and especially the drier-than-a-desert textbooks) is often an immensely rewarding experience, if not just to bathe in the random gory details that so unavoidably pop up throughout any form or shape of history. As a person interested in Chinese history, I’ve always found the constant changing of dynasties intriguing. Not just the system of the Mandate Of Heaven, but the different dynasties that rise, fall and replace each other. Being a human and hence susceptible to what Michael Shermer calls “patternicity”, I tried to form a sort of pattern of the various dynasties throughout Chinese history. In this cycle of dynasties that I eventually came up with, there were three stages: firstly, a period of chaos and instability, followed by a short dynasty that reunites the country. This is finally replaced by a long-reigning dynasty that at first prospers, but slowly degenerates, and once it collapses, brings us back to the first stage of havoc. Below, I’ll go into each with a bit of detail, before taking a look at what it means for today’s China.
Bloody And Terrible Havoc: Cases In Point:
Spring And Autumn/Warring States (春秋戰國), Three Kingdoms (三國), Five Dynasties And Ten Kingdoms (五代十國) Though not quite as vast as one might think, China’s huge variation of geography and climate lends itself rather easily to the fragmentation of the whole country. Once the strong central administration of a dynasty begins to fail, regional rulers tend to begin exercising their power independently, causing a schism in the originally unified country. This period can last for varying amounts of time, simply depending upon the situation. The period preceding Qin Shi Huang’s reunification of China arguably lasted for around 500 years, while the Three Kingdoms period lasted for 60 years. Being the chaotic and unpredictable eras, there isn’t so much a archetype to what happens. It generally involves multiple regional rulers who vye for the dominance of China among them, often conquering each other in turn. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which occurred after the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907, Northern China was ruled by the “Five Dynasties” in the title, none of which lasted more than 20 years before being overthrown and replaced— evidently, not the most sustainable of models. Eventually, someone gets tired of all of this nonsense, which brings us to the next stage:
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The Brutal And Shortlived One Cases In Point: Qin (秦) and Sui (隋) After spending enough time wallowing in chaos, a general or regional king begins to build up his strength. In order to unify the country, he wages a war of reunification, crushing opposition with military superiority. Qin Shi Huang unified the seven independent states of the Warring States period into a single Qin state, while Sui Wen Di ended the division of China that arguably extended all the way back to the fall of Eastern Han, save for the 50 years of the Western Jin dynasty. These rulers are great strategists for wartime, but tend not to be particularly astute administrators for peacetime. As a result, these emperors tend to use rather brutal and bloody methods in order to placate the population. Qin Shi Huang epitomised this approach – his book burnings and burying of scholars have been ingrained into the Chinese psyche as how not to rule a country — and with good reason. They also tend to (very unwisely) begin huge infrastructural projects, costing thousands of lives. Qin Shi Huang’s infamous Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors, and Sui Yang Di’s Great Canal are huge prices to pay for the rulers’ egos. With pressganged labourers and high death rates, they are inevitably unpopular. Unsuccessful wars further contribute to the unpopularity of these dynasties, impoverishing the already meagre state coffers. Rebellions eventually occur all over the country, with peasantry totally dissatisfied with the ruling dynasties. The Qin dynasty is brought to an end by the Chu-Han Contention, while Sui Yang Di is assassinated by his advisors. This brings about the next stage of the cycle – will they do better?
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The Nice And Prosperous One Cases in Point: Han (漢) and Tang (唐) (Song (宋) possibly) Having overthrown the extremely unpopular emperors of the preceding dynasties, the incoming rulers tend to focus on placating the population with relatively lax policies, which results in prosperity, with the famed Rule of Wen and Jing in the Han Dynasty, and the Reign Of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty. However, these dynasties do not reinvent the wheel once in rule; as a matter of fact, they are often heavily indebted to those preceding them. The Han had the visionary standardisation of measurement, currency and various other aspects that Qin Shi Huang put into place, while the Tang simply kept many of the laws that the Sui dynasty had put in place. Song seemed to manage to avoid becoming a short dynasty by managing to not fall into the trap of overindulgence and brutal treatment of the peasantry, effectively bringing the first stages of this stage into place. As a result of the prosperity that comes with these liberal policies, many people now associate China with these dynasties – calling themselves both 漢人 and 唐人 in honour of the golden ages these dynasties brought into existence. Trade also flourished, and it is no coincidence that the Silk Road is most commonly associated with these dynasties. With the state coffers suitably filled, the emperors of these dynasties then tend to get somewhat ambitious, and in order to reinforce their borders, they begin a series of often successful wars, such as Han Wu Di’s wars against the Xiongnu and the Tang Dynasty’s wars to the west against the Turkic people. However, what good that has been established has to come to an end. By the middle, chaos begins to creep in again. The emperors, not having experienced war in a few generations, have grown soft, giving way to pleasure-making and placing
too much power in trusted officials. As a result, mid-dynasty rebellions occur, such as the insurgent Xin Dynasty of Wang Mang that separates the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, or the An Lushan Rebellion during mid-Tang dynasty. Occasionally, we usually have competent successors who come in to save the day. The East Han Dynasty rebounded to reasonably prosperous heights under Han Guangwu Di and his two successors, who put down the many rebellions and secured the borders once more. However, the Tang dynasty, though successful in ending the An Lushan Rebellion, was chronically weakened. After these rebellions, the dynasties continue, but not without consequence. Increasingly, the emperors succeeding one another become incapable and hedonistic. Some are no more than children, puppets of ambitious officials who rule from behind the scenes. Eunuchs, trusted and gradually over-relied upon by emperors, drastically increase their personal powers, despite being unable to pass it onto any offsprings. The widespread corruption and decadence of the court undermine any attempt to establish a central authority, and massive unrest occurs. Eventually, it all falls apart. Whether the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty, or the Huang Chao Rebellions at the end of the Tang, these rebellions deal a mortal blow to the dynasties’ lifeline, which gradually fizzle out with the usurpation of some official, such as Cao Cao for Han and Zhu Wen for Tang, ushering in another period of total chaos. And with that, we’re back to the start of our cycle.
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What About The Last Three? Yes, about that. The last three dynasties do seem to be slightly different. The Yuan Dynasty, while comparatively short-lived, still lasted for 90 years, while the Ming and Qing dynasties both lasted almost 300 years each. This may manifest as a result of ethnic minorities being a dominant force throughout these dynasties – the Yuan Dynasty was of course founded by the Mongols, while the Qing Dynasty was founded by Manchurians. The two dynasties ruled by ethnic minorities had unique hierarchies, placing those belonging to these minorities at the top of the power system. Obviously, this led to great dissatisfaction among the Han majority, leading to revolts from the very start. This meant that suppression was necessary for the success of the dynasty – something that wasn’t necessarily true in the other dynasties ruled by ethnic Han people.
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How About Now? The Warlord Period that followed the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 (and perhaps all the way until the 1949 establishment of the PRC) arguably falls into the category of the chaotic period. Despite the Republic of China’s best attempts, regional rulers always remained more powerful than the official government formed by the Kuomintang, who repeatedly tried and failed to unify the country. According to the pattern I laid out above, this would make the People’s Republic of China the short-lived “dynasty”. And it does certainly resemble Qin and Sui in some aspects, especially in its early years. From its dismal attempts at collectivisation and industrialisation in the Five Year Plans and the Great Leap Forward, mirroring the large-scale constructions of the emperors, to the relentless censorship and dictatorial methods utilised on its citizens, resembling imperial authoritarianism, the early years of the PRC certainly didn’t look like a very sustainable regime. But if there’s one thing that is different between the party system and the dynastic system, it’s the lack of a hereditary inheritance system. This gave chance for the changing of policy, and with Mao’s death, conditions improved. Under Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, the country took a different route, and the PRC stabilised into a mode of exponential growth. Recently however, Xi Jinping seems to be increasingly returning to dictatorial and illiberal measures, coupled with nationalistic overtones, most likely to keep the growing middle class in line. The question to ask is: how long can this last? There are even more differences that separate the PRC’s rule from previous dynasties. Foreign intervention was essentially minimal in the majority of these dynasties: The Middle Kingdom remained isolated, at most sometimes recruiting vassal states or half-heartedly (but mostly failingly) invading neighbouring countries. The assumption they operated under is best embodied in Emperor Qianlong’s letter to King George III of England: “We possess all things”, and hence, they did not need anything from the foreign world. However, the 21st century world does not and will not operate the same as when Chang’an was the biggest city in the world. With China emerging as a world power in direct rivalry to the USA, and its belligerence in expanding its power base to beyond that of its geographical boundaries, conflicts are bound to occur. As we saw with the final dynasties, the cycle is easily disturbed by foreign influences. With modern globalisation all but ensuring that international influences reach inside China, will this work to the benefit or detriment of the current Communist Party regime? Finally, there remains another question. Will China (along with other states such as Russia, who have had a long, uninterrupted history of autocratic rulers) be able to transcend this cycle, emerging beyond emperors and dictators to embrace democracy? If so, how long will it take? With the unstable currents of Westernisation and the middle class, who knows what might happen? Well, we’ll have to wait and see— what exciting times we live in.
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Mental Health How can we help?
By the editorial board | Photography by Gioia Cheung In the span of just 17 days during February 2017, 5 students in Hong Kong committed suicide. And from the beginning of 2013 through to the end of 2016, 71 others did the same. It’s a troubling indicator that something isn’t quite right in Hong Kong, a culture so focused on results that it simply doesn’t do enough to foster dialogue regarding the importance of mental health.
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69 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 We’ve heard them all before, stories of the luxury and privilege afforded to those from international schools: How a 16 year old girl booked The Wanted (near the height of their popularity) for her birthday party, Instagram posts from behind the steering wheel of a Ferrari, wardrobes decked to the nines with designer clothing. Media outlets constantly portray international school students as rude and self-centered, spoilt by the instant fulfilment of their material whims, their academic abilities and work ethic softened by comparatively “easy” school curriculums. There is, after all, a reason that the Hong Kong Kid phenomenon exists. But the issue isn’t as simple as this purported divide might make it out to be— the rising number of student suicides is an issue prevalent in both local or international schools, as suicides have occurred from both walks of life. Admittedly, CIS students are undeniably privileged. Our students enjoy significant material wealth, and we have never been subject to the struggles that the underprivileged experience. And despite constantly being told to be aware of the socio-economic privileges afforded to us, some of us might at times, still remain blind to it. But this does not mean that we aren’t affected by stress, familial expectations, and depression. You’ve also heard of the countless all-nighters that students have pulled in the name of completing work. The breakdowns behind closed doors. And there have been CIS students who have attempted suicide before. The Xiao Hua team interviewed various people from the school community on how we can help. Interview with CIS alumni How can we support those who need help? I think that teachers need to stop feeding into the competitive atmos-
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phere that the students create. Some of them understand that it is unhealthy, whereas others will put additional pressure and actively encourage the rat race mindset that can lead into academic anxiety. How can students support each other? In terms of supporting each other, I think CIS students are actually pretty good at it (in terms of what I experienced). However, I do think the school should educate students about how mental health is not a transient problem for those that really suffer, and that it also isn’t a cop out excuse. In my experience, that is something that my peers seemed to lack an understanding of. Also just encouraging people to get help before it gets really bad because it’s easier to tackle mental health problems before they really take root. Interview with University Counsellor Mr. Marier What do you think the social climate is like at CIS, and how does it affect the students? Deep-rooted in the social culture of CIS, is the issue of pressure. Students feel the pressure to succeed, pressure to go to particular colleges, and pressure to pursue particular careers. I think that as a culture, we tend to worship at the shrine of pressure. “If some pressure is good, then more pressure is better.” The idea is that you don’t waste time, or you’re super productive, you’re making the most of every moment. And in some ways, that’s good. But, what we’re seeing worldwide, is this culture of pressure is really harmful to kids. We’re seeing the effects of that at CIS, in Hong Kong, and in any community where a certain standard of performance is expected. An increasing number of kids are falling by the wayside, under this pressure. Unfortunately, pressure is something
that distorts perception. If you take a tin can, for instance, and you bring it it down to the depths of the water so it experiences more and more pressure, that can begins to crumple in on itself. This analogy is one commonplace among our students, as the pressure distorts their lives, often unhealthily so. Students end up with a distorted perception of what a ‘good grade’ is. We say it jokingly, but there is some truth to the remark, “A 5 at CIS is an Asian F”! However, in reality, if you were to graduate with all 5’s, you would be in the top third of students in the world. You could go on to college and be very successful in life, regardless of your 5’s five years ago. But that’s not the perception here. So, this distortion of perception then places an unusual amount of pressure on students to perform at a level that is taxing to them, and sometimes harmful. They can suffer from sleep deprivation, anxiety, and so on. This also detracts from their overall experience of CIS. When it all comes down to grades and it’s a race to perform, thoughts like “I have to have all these extracurriculars”, and “I have to be rounded”, “I have to go on to specific colleges” are normalized. There are thousands of outstanding schools in the world, but it’s easy to believe there’s only fifty when they are the only ones everyone talks about. So, this idea that students are supposed to matriculate to these extremely competitive universities, is just another example of this pressure that students feel. As a counselor and a parent, how do you think we can solve this? In order to tackle this problem, there needs to be more awareness. I feel like as a university counsellor, I’m getting kids too late in the process, and they should hear what I have to say about university and grades at a much younger age. I think our parent community needs ongoing, constant
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education about this issue, as well as workshops, videos, book clubs, any way that we can get at our parents, starting at a much younger age to make them more aware of these issues. That’s not to say that everyone ‘suffers’ from the pressure in this culture, but everyone certainly experiences it. Some just cope with it better than others. My fear is that it’s something that’s getting away from us. Hence, personally, I would like to see an intensive education program that’s ongoing. I would also love to see us experiment with the idea of us not having grades for students until absolutely necessary. So they’re not looking at numbers and constantly comparing themselves, and it not being a number-centric education system. And before putting numbers on tests, having far-ranging talks with students and parents on what these numbers actually mean. I think some education on the meaning of grades, especially in the big picture, might help. There are a lot of other small ways this could be improved. I think teachers are also a victim to the pressure culture, so some faculty discussion on the meaning of numbers would make a difference. We could also take a look at the culture of Hong Kong, in terms
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of the excessive amounts of tutoring. Although I’m not convinced that we could ever eliminate it, but I think we can definitely do a better job. Interview with School Counsellor Monica What do you think are the main factors that put pressure on students’ mental health and wellbeing? It’s not what people would think it is, which may be the surface level of issues that people usually come in with like academics. The underlying needs are often due to the lack of connection, possibly with friends or family. There’s also the idea of of believing that ‘I matter’ and feeling important like ‘if I’m not here would somebody miss me’. Students don’t come in talking about issues like these but I recognise them from our conversations and work with them from there. There are a lot of perfectionists around here and when things aren’t working as well as they used to, students try a lot to control that, whether it’s by studying even harder or getting involved in even more activities. But often times the underlying issue is beyond academics therefore studying even harder is not an appropriate coping mechanism. So if the actual issue relates to being
insecure about certain relationships or feeling alone, studying isn’t going to help the problem. In fact it creates a new problem for the student because if they don’t meet a certain grade they believe that they’re definitely not good enough. Identity is another factor as it’s part of adolescents development to try and find out who you are and students often base that on the validations from others. How can we facilitate a more effective conversation between the school and students on mental health issues? Student groups such as Xiao Hua, future head girls and head boys as well as the student councils. If the head girl and head boy don’t care about these issue, it would be really hard to garner these kinds of passion. Perhaps the student council could reach out to the school administration and ask to see what the staff meetings look like or ask to come in and present on certain issues. The school offered an optional suicide prevention training course recently and 20 teachers voluntarily gave up their free periods to be a part of this course. The feedback from the teachers was overwhelming and many teachers thought it was powerful and asked why didn’t we have more time to do this as they felt that this was the first time
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that they were able to sit down and talk about things that they’re seeing in class. Interview with other International School Students Do you think mental illness is a serious problem at your school? Student 1: Yes I definitely think it is. I don’t think we learn enough about what mental illnesses truly are, and how they affect the body. Just like we used to have health classes in middle school, I think we would really benefit from talking more about mental health issues, the biology behind them, and how we can deal with these issues or support friends who may be suffering from depression/anxiety/other disorders. This could be in the form of health classes in PE, or discussions in seminars. Whichever form it is in, I really believe more discussion would lessen the stigma and open up valuable discussions for people to learn from one another. Student 2: I do think mental health is a problem at [my school], and have seen friends struggling with it in the past due to stress and expectations. From my own point of view I think that counselling does offer a good way
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to deal with it through talking it out, and coming up with solutions. I know that with mental health awareness week there are seminars and sessions after school that offer talks and yoga etc, which I’ve done and find useful. Overall I think the school does help well, and that the issue is present, but avoidable here.
whom we can turn to for support and guidance.
There is a time and a place for silence, but this is neither the time nor the place. Few problems have been solved by silence and inaction. Therefore, in order to minimise student stress and raise awareness about mental health issues, we need to foster active and open discussions between parents, students, and teachers, which shed light on different symptoms and risk factors, and the ways in which we can support those suffering from these issues. External factors that hinder well-being, primarily toxic academic competition, need to be combated. Instead of perpetuating the existing dogmas about “success” and “perfection”, and comparing numbers and letters, we need cancel the rat race and come to terms with the setbacks we may face, without fearing the scrutiny of others. Above all else, it is imperative that we destigmatize the act of seeking help, bearing in mind that there will always be people within our community
List of Private Psychiatrists Practicing in Hong Kong: http://www.hkcpsych. org.hk/index.php?option=com_ docman&view=docman&Itemid=345&lang=en
How to reach out for help School Counsellors: Dr. Ann Mok ( amok@cis.edu.hk ) & Ms. Monica Chang (mchang@cis.edu.hk) Mr. Andrew Luceno (aluceno@cis.edu.hk)
The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong http://www.mhahk.org.hk/chi/index. htm | Phone Line and Counseling Service: 2772 0047 Hong Kong Psychological Society (http://www.hkps.org.hk/index.php) The Samaritans 24-Hour Multilingual Suicide Prevention Service 2896 0000
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Checkerboard Hill : Writings about Hong Kong By Jasper Chan
The main reason for Hong Kong’s recent appearances in the international media can be attributed to the Occupy Central movement, and the city’s continuing struggle for universal suffrage and democracy whilst in the grip of a China that is becoming increasingly authoritarian. Another, less positive cause for media attention was the city’s role as a tax haven for foreign companies, the scope of which was revealed in the Panama Papers. But beneath the image of an international, cosmopolitan finance centre lies an intriguing and complicated city. It may not be as renowned a world city as London or New York, the cultural aspects of which are as well known as their function as global hubs. It is not quintessentially Chinese either, with Beijing much better suited to filling that role. Like neighbouring Macau, Hong Kong has been profoundly shaped and influenced by the East and the West for much of its history, giving it its geographical significance and its unorthodox mix of cultures, leading to the city developing a flair of its own. The development of its unique local culture, in fact, would not have been possible without the British domination of the city for the last century. But the British colonisation only served to augment Hong Kong’s existing culture, and the effects of this hybrid culture are represented not only in the city’s various institutes of higher education and its well-funded, efficiently-run civil services, but also in the city’s urban culture.
This city is not unlike most others.
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It has its various tourist attractions, its financial districts, its suburbs, its inner-city slums. The city also possesses the usual array of office buildings, hotels, and apartment blocks. In Hong Kong where land is scarce, developers sought to expand their buildings upwards, and so vertical living became the norm. But in these areas aspects, Hong Kong is just like any other metropolis. To the millions of foreigners coming to and leaving Hong Kong every year, they probably do not see anything in Hong Kong that distinguishes the city from any other - the jaded, glitzy lights of the buildings and billboards on both sides of Victoria Harbour, the gaudy shops in the malls on the Peak or in SoHo, the overpriced bars and the drunken revelry of Lan Kwai Fong. Most come to Hong Kong to deal with matters of finance and commerce, so the business districts of Admiralty and uptown Central are all they see of Hong Kong anyway. But away from the impersonality of the Hang Seng Index and the cool detachment of the city’s financial industry lies an animate, cognisant city.
Hong Kong is one of the world’s top financial hubs, and unimaginable amounts of wealth change hands in the city on a daily basis. Major banking conglomerates – Standard Charted, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, have their headquarters based in the city. Many thousands of tons of cargo enter the city in an endless stream, brought in from all over the world through
shipping and flight. Staying true to its roots as an entrepôt, Hong Kong possesses some of the finest port facilities in the world, retaining its role as an international shipping centre. And every day, delegations sent by different companies, institutions and governments set up shop at the Asia-World Expo near the city’s airport, with the concerts, trade fairs, and various demonstrations and exhibitions held in its massive exhibit hall attracting millions of guests each year. Then there are the aforementioned tourist hotspots, places like Lan Kwai Fong and the Golden Bauhinia Square that tourism websites and holiday blogs talk endlessly of.
But it is surprising how little the city’s residents actually see of those things which supposedly define Hong Kong. The financial dealings of multinational mega-corporations concern the average wage-earner very little. The shipping and port industry now only accounts for a measly 4% of the city’s GDP, a far cry from the time when those industries were the lifeblood of Hong Kong. Most of the city’s massive port facilities are currently based in far-off, secluded Kwai Chung, detached from the daily life of most people. For all its modern conveniences, the Asia-World Expo is still located too far away from the city, and charges too much to be a viable choice for most local institutions and groups. Occasionally, a concert by a popular band or some convention held by a prominent organisation might attract scores of people from the city
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to Lantau Island, where the Expo is based, but for most of its existence the Expo has been the preserve of foreigners, who make up the bulk of those who organise and attend most of the exclusive events held there. And in spite of the government’s best efforts, the Golden Bauhinia Square never really became popular with the city’s locals – on any given day, most of the people in the Square are likely to be tourists from the Chinese mainland or abroad.
Of course, there is more depth to the city than many visitors see. Moving inland and away from the flat plateau of reclaimed land on Hong Kong Island, the crowds and the skyscrapers abruptly fall away, and the roads rise steeply uphill, to quiet residential neighbourhoods removed from the frenetic rush of the city. Only a few streets away from the bustling business districts of Hong Kong Island, one can find a more humble, down-toearth version of Hong Kong, the side of the city that gave rise to the city’s can-do image. In some places, aging shophouses built long ago during the colonial era face modern, glass-andsteel office buildings on opposite sides
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of intersections. One would not be wrong to say that the two opposite sides of the intersection are worlds apart from each other; to a foreigner staying in the city on business, or even a city-dwelling office worker, there would not be much reason for them to venture out of their offices into the nearby area, except for lunch. The local shopkeeper and resident would not have any reason more than the office dweller to leave the familiarity of their respective worlds. So they continue on with their lives, both aware and ignorant of each other. And it is this peculiar sort of co-existence between the two different aspects of the city that consents for sprawling open-air markets to exist at the feet of soaring skyscrapers, that permits rickety junks and sampans to bobble alongside sleek yachts in the city’s many harbours, that allows aged old women to continue pushing their handcarts laden with discarded cardboard through the flashy shopping avenues at Central and Admiralty. Below the glittering neon billboards of the Central skyline are streetside shacks selling fruits and trinkets, and it is this kind of peculiarity, the near-seamless fusion between rich and poor, east and west, modernity and archaicness that makes for the
city’s technological, architectural and cultural hybridity.
There is a common saying amongst locals that Hong Kong is a small place – seven million people crammed into a space of 1,100 kilometres squared, most of which is too mountainous and rugged for development. Like New York, this absence of land on which to develop has forced Hong Kong to expand skywards, in the process defying most city planning rules. The city is a forest of skyscrapers, and one would be hard-pressed to find a structure under ten stories tall in the urban districts. Vertical living is the only form of living afforded to the vast majority of the city’s residents, so most people live in an apartment many stories up in the air sharing a building with hundreds of other occupants. There is a sort of uniformity to the pattern of the buildings making up the districts; usually the ground level of buildings are occupied by shops and restaurants, and the upper levels being apartments. This pattern is replicated across the entirety of the city, rows of buildings wedged between each other, forming a seamless wall only broken up by roads and intersections. But Hong Kong is
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74 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 not quite an urban sprawl in the likes of São Paulo or Mexico City, nor does it resemble the structure of well-defined metropolises like Washington D.C.. In Hong Kong, geography plays as much of a role as history or politics in defining the shape of the city. The economic and political nerve centres of the city are located on the north side of Hong Kong Island, and at night one can see those buildings housing the city’s corporations and governance functions all lit up from across the harbour: the neon-lit steel skeleton of the Hang Seng Banking Corporation headquarters, the wording on the sides of the ICC, Hong Kong’s tallest skyscraper, and the silhouette of the Legislative Council chamber, the lesser buildings behind it visible through its distinctive rectangular archway. Stanley and adjacent Shek O on the south side of Hong Kong Island are expat enclaves, and their beaches are popular with tourists and locals alike. Pokfulam to the east, where the University of Hong Kong is situated, is a haunt of artists and intellectuals, and like the older districts of Sham Shui Po and Tai Kok Tsui, Pokfulam still retains traces of its old-timey charm despite creeping gentrification. Across the harbour in Kowloon, the shopping district of Mong Kok is a favoured low-end alternative to the uptown malls of Hong Kong Island. Nearby Kowloon Tong is known for its selection of prestigious schools and it’s expensive, low-density housing, while at the same time being the district which processes most of the traffic heading into the New Territories. And on the other side of the extensive mountain range bordering the north of Kowloon lie the aptly-named New Towns, well-developed urban centres dotted around the New Territories, having been built up by the colonial government during the 90s in a bid to secure more living space.
Omnipresent throughout most of the districts are the government’s public
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housing estates, easily identifiable by their uniform, monotonous facade and their number – they are always built in clusters of four or five so that they stand out amongst the skyline. The first of these estates appeared after the British reassertion of authority on Hong Kong, when the colonial government had to deal with rising squalor on the Kowloon Peninsula as well as an influx of refugees from the mainland. Later on, more were built following the population surge of the 1950s as part of the government plan to urbanise Kowloon, where many people, mostly immigrants, were still living in illegal squatter settlements rife with crime and disease. They are still being built in the dozens today to combat the housing shortage crisis, with the wait for a government-subsidised apartment stretching for years on end. In the past, public housing estates were often run-down and dirty, with dozens of families living in close, cramped spaces and sharing communal kitchens, toilets and showers. The electricity supply was unreliable so blackouts were common, and clean water had to be fetched from a spigot set into a corridor wall. In the face of these hardships the tenants of the public housing estates came to rely on each other, forming strong bonds and giving rise to the “Lion Rock Spirit”. A television series, “Below the Lion Rock” once tried to capture life in Hong Kong’s public housing estates, and an oft-quoted line from its theme song that was meant to encapsulate the spirit of community in the public housing estates was ‘Of one mind in pursuit of our dream; All discord set aside’. Such was its popularity, and its resonance with Hong Kong’s people, that this line would later come to be used in commercials and even in speeches by government officials. The Lion Rock Spirit was more than just a term coined by the aforementioned television series, but an ideal and concept as well, and its meaning later came to signify the can-do spirit of the city as a whole. Now, as the pop-
ulist ideology of Hong Kong localism begins to gain support in the city, the term invokes feelings of nativist pride towards the city’s self-identity, its cultural uniqueness and tenuous independence from China.
The people living in the public housing estates are a curious bunch. There are the retired elderly who are the most eligible for a government apartment, and you can reliably expect to see large amounts of them about the housing estates engaged in leisurely activities like chess-playing and Tai Chi. There are the minimum-wage earners, for whom a roof over their heads already counts as a blessing. But most residents of Hong Kong’s public housing estates are not the unemployed or the disenfranchised, nor are they particularly poor and survive off government welfare. For the most part, they are but the regular citizen – usually middle class, with families, or living with their elderly parents, and generally law-abiding, tax-paying, ethnic Chinese and long-term residents of the city. Faced with the skyrocketing prices on the Hong Kong housing market, the year-long wait for a government flat suddenly seems much more tempting to those eligible. Today’s newly built public housing estates are clean and sparse, some even with live-in security guards and cleaners. The individual apartments may be tight and cramped, but in a city where each square feet of housing costs a small fortune that will not be putting prospective tenants off. The public housing estates have come a long way since their portrayal in “Below the Lion Rock”. Let’s just hope the sense of community and unity embodied in the Lion Rock Spirit remains. [ Continued in online edition ]
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從香港看心理疾病 的嚴重性 作者：匿名本地學生 Allan Zhu
你在校外會見學業壓力輔導員 （e.g.社工）嗎？ 你在校內會見學業壓力輔導員 （e.g.社工）嗎？ 你曾經有沒有自殺的念頭？ 你有沒有患上過心理疾病？ 你在男拔認識任何患有心理疾病 的人嗎？
每一位父母都希望望子成 龍、望女成鳳，但自從2015年9月份的 新學期開始算起，香港便已經有61名 學生不幸選擇自殺 －而大多數是因學 業壓力作出這決定，跟香港被稱為「 亞洲的世界都市」形成反差。很多學 生都抱怨學習壓力太大，那么事實上 是這麼一回事嗎？依我看，非也。 學習壓力，是指人在學習活動中所承 受的精神負擔。如今，在香港由於學 生壓力過大而造成心理疾病的學生站 不少數。就以我就讀的學校拔萃男書 院為例子。拔萃男書院是一間直資中 學，所以其壓力會比普通政府 地學 校小。拔萃男書院給學生施加的壓力 會在學生力所能及的範圍之內，所以 因學業壓力過大而導致精神疾病的情 況少之又少。在作業量方面，學校給 的作業量並不像人們常說的雲屯霧 集。學校的作業給予學生的自由度極 高，因為作業的形式百姿百態學生可 以通過口頭彙報的方式來完成，其餘 的也能夠在電腦上完成。人的一生有 約三分之一的時間是在睡眠中度過
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有 3
没有 17
5
15
4 1 7
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的，所以人的睡眠質素直接關係到生 活質量。在男拔，由於大部分的學生 都能保持至少5至6小時以上的睡眠時 間，所以失眠的學生寥寥可數，也很 少出現因睡眠不足而導致心情憂慮焦 急的情況。作業負荷量過大會造成學 生情緒上的沮喪、低落和易暴易怒， 為人處事也會帶有消極的傾向，以至 對父母有牴觸情緒。這些情況在香港 青少年中並不少見，但男拔的學生向 來積極樂觀，不會因為小事而發脾 氣，更很少於家庭鬧矛盾。由此可 見，學生壓力太大的現象在男拔並不 常見。 男拔在香港是名副其實的出類拔萃， 與香港的各大中學競爭激烈。為了維 護男拔的威名，男拔的學生便會努力 地在眾多競爭者中拔得頭籌。在競爭 和自我提拔的過程中，學生不知不覺 的便給自己添加了隱形的學習壓力。 而學校就有義務去幫助有潛在學習壓 力的同學。為了讓學生更好的管理自 己的壓力，學校會定期舉行有關壓力 管理的工作坊，使學生在不斷調整自 我學習方法的過程中，提高學業成
績。同時，學校還聘請了兩位專職社 工，他們全程投入到幫助各個學生尋 查自己壓力的根源，從而消除學生因 學習壓力過大而產生的種種的心理障 礙。而在IB課程中，每一位學生都會 被調派一位指定的校內老師來作為學 業顧問。這種一對一的密集式分配能 夠非常有效地解決學生的壓力問題， 因為透過師生的緊密關係，老師們能 夠更深入地去瞭解學生的狀況，達到 了鮑子知我的境界。此外，一山一 樹、一花一草、一丘一壑，優美的校 園景觀也確保了學習環境的質素和氣 氛，從此促進學生們的精神發展，舒 緩心理壓力，更可陶冶性情，並無形 中提升學生對學校的的歸屬感。 校園也好，人生也罷在成長時不免遇 到競爭和競爭所帶來無可避免的壓 力，而作為學生的我們眼前最重要的 任務是學習。與其逆風行駛被壓力征 服，不如坦然地面對壓力，並將其化 為輔助我們乘風破浪的動力，那麼， 總有一天，學生們就能夠克服自己內 心的焦慮，在學習生涯中展翅翱翔！
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杭州最好的十樣事 By Hannah Guo Photography by Ryan Chiao
1
共同感
在杭州漢基，我們大家都得到了了一份共同感。如 果你每一天都會看到同樣的人，跟同樣的人吃喝玩 樂，和他們的感情自然會變得更深刻。
2自由性
在杭州漢基，我們的「自由時間」不叫「自由時 間」，而是叫「自導時間」。我們有的「自導時 間」其實是蠻多的，但是我們需要適當地管理我們 的時間，因為我們要在這時間裡做完我們的功課以 及參加我們想參加的課外活動（這大都是學生組織 的）等。做完這些之後我們才能去享受我們的自由 時間。我們在杭州沒有家長催著，所以這自由性使 得我們培養一種責任性。
3能夠改變事情的權利
杭州漢基是一個小的社會，而且我們這些學生都 是這社會其中的一些老百姓。雖然潘老師（Mr. Pratt）是我們的總監，我們還是可以通過投票而改 變我們感到不滿意的事情……像把一些舊的設施換 為新的，或者大眾對素食星期一的不滿（一個討論 了好久的問題）。
4嘗試新事情的機會
杭州有很多不同的活動。無論是多數的體育項目， 還是不同的委員會，這兒提供了很多不同的選擇。 比如說，很多男同學以前不踢足球的，但是因為這 兒有蠻多同學踢，而且這兒的體育活動很易參加， 我年級裡踢足球的同學逐漸上升了。不僅是體育項 目這一些，還有很多不同的委員會。以下的例子都 是一些學生主動開的委員會：辯論隊, MUN, 環境 組, Jing Sings等。
5總類不同的課外活動
關於杭州的課外活的及生活，我們有很多不同的活
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動。比如說，我們為了慶祝春節而有了一個非常大 的團年飯。不僅有這個，我們還組織了我們杭州漢 基的春節聯歡晚會。我們為這個做了很多準備—— 每一個寢室都需要準備一個語言為主的表演和一個 歌舞為主的表演。每一個節目都必須是十分鐘之 內。最後，我們還頒獎了。（N401 贏了 (; ）
6
豐富的設施
學生們都經常使用學校裡的健身室，因為健身室和 我們的房間只是短短一分鐘的距離。遊戲室有台球 桌，電視，wii等等的設施讓學生們一起玩。
7 認識新朋友的機會 我覺得杭州漢基有更多認識新朋友的機會。在香 港，每一年我們只有兩個主要的學習組，我們 的 study group 和我們的 advisory，但是我們 advisory 的人每一年都一樣，所以唯一跟新的人交 流及學習的機會只是我們的 study groups。不過， 在杭州，我們有很多不同的「組」。我們有我們的 寢室、study groups、委員會、C&S 組等，因此我 們見的人和平時互相交流的人就多了。因為學生們 會隨機被派到寢室，很多人一開始都不認識自己的 室友，但時間久了你的室友必會成會你在杭州裏最 好的朋友！
8“Help is always offered at
Hogwarts (Hangzhou) to those who ask” 這是有名作家 JK Rowling 在「哈利波特」其中寫 的一個名句，但這句話也適合形容杭州漢基的氣 氛。大部分的老師都住在學校的，因此如果你需要 幫忙的時候，你不僅可以發郵件，你還可以親自去 問老師一些問題。每一個星期一和星期四晚上，上 完課之後，我們的數學老師都會組織一個叫「Math Help」的東西。這是專門來幫助數學需要幫忙的同 學，數學測驗的前一晚，差不多全部學生都會去 math help，是一個很好的學習氣氛。
學聊天呢？
10
杭州是一個長大的機會
我們其實在哪兒都會長大的，但是我覺得我在杭州 學到了很多我在香港學不到的東西。比如說，因為 父母不在，我現在正在培養我的責任性，讓我做 一個更有自律的人。不僅是這個，這點你可能聽煩 了……因為杭州漢基是一個寄宿學校，你在學校如 果發生了什麼問題，你不能回家去躲開你的問題。 在杭州，你必須面對你的問題，而我們也因此漸漸 變得更成熟。
9用電腦和手機上的時間少了！
我們因為總是有事情做，無論是做功課，還是參加 課外活動，還是跟朋友聊天，所以我們用我們的電 腦手機的時間就減少了很多。當你跟你的朋友在一 起的時候，為什麼你要用你的電腦手機去跟你的同
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Facebook is the world’s most popular social media platform, claiming to have 1.23 billion daily users. Facebook continues to grow at a phenomenal pace, with five new users creating an account every second. You can find nearly every person (and their dog) on Facebook, and it can certainly open up whole new worlds when it comes to finding new friends and keeping up with them. You’ll often hear parents muse that the younger generations seem to spend their whole lives on Facebook, just before taking out their phone to read their neighbour’s new status. It’s true that teens use Facebook for a longer duration per day than older people, but our new reality is that Facebook is fading out of teenagers’ lives. How could what was once undeniably the most popular social network lose it’s appeal to the teenage demographic? One factor in Facebook’s unforeseen decline is the popularity of it’s rivals (the renowned Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat etc.) Back in the days when Facebook started, it really was the only social media that was widely used and really attractive towards teenagers. In fact, it was heavily marketed as the only noteworthy social media platform out there. Nowadays, however, we are spoilt for choice. There are two types of social networks that have risen to power recently: The image sharing apps, such as Instagram and Snapchat, as well as instant messaging apps, such as Facebook’s sub-application Messenger and WhatsApp. Sharing photos has become a much more popular way of sharing experiences. Instagram, for example, can pressure people to sum up their influx of new experiences into one or two simple photos and a short caption. It causes people to spend more time to be able to capture the perfect photo, which is ironic considering that a shorter attention span and a want to complete everything quickly and lazily may be more prevalent among us. This concept has clearly taken off, and is an integral part of Instagram’s booming success and omnipresence in our lives. Snapchat is attractive mainly for the instant-deletion idea of it, and the timer running on your “Story”. The platform allows you to send photos to others without having to worry that they’ll use it against you. Plus, any attempts from your peers to preserve your sent messages will be quickly alerted of via notification of a screenshot. In a world where we are taught so much about privacy and being careful of what you post as it can be used against you, Snapchat seems like a very good privacy alternative. Instant messaging is nothing new, as MMS messaging has existed for a long time. Back in the day where your phone didn’t have a keyboard, you had to press “7” four times to type the letter “s”. If you missed it, you’d have to poke through the cycle again before you could retype it. It was tedious, but good for quick and small messages like “when are you coming” or “call me” to convey stuff that was too simple for just a phone call. Generally, you’d resort to calling people or sitting down at a keyboard to type out anything longer than that though, which meant that texts weren’t the preferred medium of communication. In recent years though, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have pushed messaging to a whole new level. Group chats are extremely common, and it’s an extremely effective way to keep up and share things to a whole group of people, much like you would with Facebook. With the capabilities of instant messaging in
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this day and age, chats act almost like mini-social networks. If you have a social network that’s filled withIssue your ac79only | Xiao Hua 16 tual friends and family, wouldn’t you prefer that immensely to one involving people you don’t really know that well? Another flaw of Facebook is it’s over-complicatedness. Facebook is filled with so many different features and extensions that it can start to get extremely confusing to use and understand what Facebook is trying to get you to do.” Facebook recently added a feature called “My Day”, which is exactly like the “story” feature that Snapchat pioneered and Instagram borrowed, thus adding a feature that, according to Facebook itself, less than 4% of regular users have ever touched. It’s trying too hard to be too much, and it’s not doing any of it that well. But it is not purely Facebook’s fault that we are using it much less; we, as the younger generation, begin to live in a different age than that of the previous generations. Our generation is full of short attention spans and a constant search for something new, meaning that nothing is everlasting- especially the dominance of an online platform. As teens are trying to find new and exciting things, Facebook will be a fallen soldier—what remains behind the search. It has enjoyed an extremely large degree of success, attracting many older generations of people, but perhaps we’re just looking for the next interesting thing. And Facebook just isn’t it. If Facebook topples; it won’t be the first social media giant to have done so- Myspace was once one of the largest social media platforms, with 110 million active users, and back then, it was unstoppable. But it fell, and it fell hard, now nothing more than a meme amongst social media users. Yahoo too, was once massive, and lately it has lost all of its popularity with younger generations, but it’s still holding on to the older demographic, the people who don’t want to change their email addresses to a gmail address, or people who have just gotten themselves so used to Yahoo that they can’t back out. But one day, this very specific demographic will go away, and Yahoo’s age of fame will be over for good. Websites come and go, and Facebook might very well be the next one to do it. There’s one thing that also needs to be taken into account: All these social media sites haven’t just disappeared— they’ve been replaced: Myspace is dead mainly because all of its users went over to Facebook. Myspace started to over complicate themselves as they tried to keep up, but Facebook came along with a much simpler approach. Yahoo’s dominance was gradually stolen by Google, as Google expanded their services in a smarter manner. People won’t just ditch a site if it works, instead, they’ll leave because they found something better. Hence, it’s obvious to see my standpoint on Facebook: one day, it will die. Nobody knows when that day will come, though I’ll bet that it’ll take a long time to lure a user population larger than any country away from the king. It’s only a matter of time before some replacement, an all-conquering social media site, will make itself known, and will be the final nail in Facebook’s coffin. Maybe it won’t be a singular site— the current competitors to Facebook are a multitude of services and apps. But one way or another, Facebook will come to find itself outgunned.
Facebook in Decline
By Enzo Creamers Photographer: Chih Ning Kuo
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港獨 BY VENESSA LAU
2016年十月十二日是香港立法會六屆以來最黑暗的日子。 議事廳是有助香港繁榮穩定的發展的莊嚴場合，可是青年 新政的兩個議員卻以極大的不尊敬對待一個如此莊重的場 地，惹起許多香港人的憤怒。受媒體關注的“宣誓風波“ 指的是當時立法會議員游蕙禎、梁頌恆在議事廳進行宣誓 儀式時口出狂言，在宣誓期間把「中華人民共和國」中的 「republic」說成 「re-f*cking」，而且把「china」這 個字發音成「支那」。「支那」是日 人在戰爭後稱華 人，是貶義詞，也是輕蔑我國民族的象徵。這麼惡劣的詞 語居然出自一個中國人的口，相比起對我們議事廳的不 敬，更加是侮辱國家、侮辱我們民族。 最離譜的是他們犯錯之後不僅沒有愧疚之心，還沒有勇氣 認錯，以胡說八道的藉口掩飾自己的過錯。梁頌恆對傳 媒解釋說自己的口音不正所以才會把「China」讀成「支 那」，可是卻在節目上正確地讀出「China」這個字，當 場被識穿謊言，厚顏無恥。 這次的風波更引致了第五次的全國人大常委會釋法（解釋 「香港基 法」裏的條例），內容講述「宣誓人拒絕宣 誓，即喪失就任該條所列相應公職的資格。宣誓人故意宣 讀與法定誓言不一致的誓言，或者以任何不真誠、不莊重 的方式宣誓，也屬於拒絕宣誓，所作宣誓無效，宣誓人即 喪失就任相應公職的資格」。這導致了法律界的「黑衣遊
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行」和民陣遊行，更有許多支持青年新政的市民拼命維護 他們，指「言論自由」是香港的核心價值之一。可是，躲 在「言論自由」這個盾牌後就能夠任由市民胡作非為嗎？ 難道人們真的可以藉著「言論自由」作出如此大逆不道的 事？孝順父母乃是天經地義；雖然我有權利去侮辱我的父 母，可並不代表可被接納。港人對中國的態度也該是這 樣；雖然香港與父親失散了幾年，「中國是香港的父親」 是無可避免的事實。因此，出言侮辱國家與出手撑摑父母 是同樣的不敬。另外，游蕙禎、梁頌恆宣誓時候展示了 「Hong Kong is NOT China」的標語，涉及到「港獨」思 想的問題。 香港是否真的能夠獨立起來？ 「水」是所有生命的來源。沒有水，就連最細微的生命也 不能存在。自從1960年，香港的水源百分之七十也來自廣 東的東江。要是香港獨立下來的話，香港要以大量的金額 興建水壩或海水化淡廠來取代我們喝了近六十年的東江 水。香港食物的供應百分之九十都是由外處運來的，而 中國內地就是最大的供應商；100%的鮮牛肉、100%的活 雞、97％淡水魚、94%的鮮豬肉、92%的蔬菜、66%的雞蛋 也是從內地運送來的。假若我們香港獨立起來，內地不再 向港輸食物，港人只好依賴外國的供應，可是供應的缺少
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會導致物價上升，生活也會變得比現在更坎坷、困難。 談論經濟方面，「港獨」就變成了一個更加不可思議的 主意。支持「港獨」思想的人士也許認為香港因為有 「3,588億美元的外匯儲備」，而且樓價長期處於高峰。 根據2015年「灼見名家傳媒有限公司」 發佈的〈香港的 財富總值與分佈初探〉，香港的樓宇至少價值40，000億 港幣，可是一旦形成了「港獨」，樓價會急速下降。「那 不就好了嗎！房地產貶值，更多的市民就可以買房子了！ 」。錯！這是大錯特錯的想法。脫離中國後，若房屋產貶 值的話，銀行也會因為被抵押的物業而受到影響，使大眾 對銀行失去信心。到時候，若港人到時候找不到工作，或 者是薪水縮小，再加上樓價的大跌，必定對香港的經濟造 成不可逆轉的損傷。 雖然港幣因為「香港聯繫匯率制度」 必會在短期內貶 值，可是用作與美元掛勾的「 3,588億美元的外匯儲備」 在金融動盪的時候也會被掏空。到時候，港幣就會貶值， 使外地的投資者對香港失去信心，撤走資產，導致港元再 次貶值，失去公信力。一個重倒覆轍的惡性循環。
港資產有價值的原因。香港能成為今時今日的國際金融中 心是因為我們的地理與中國內地親密；香港只是讓資金通 往內地的一條橋。可是如果香港獨立起來，資金不再經 過我們，直接進入內地，港人一直依賴的資 也會灰飛煙 滅。更何況，如果沒有中國這個強大的後台支撐著香港， 資 者會對港失去信心，再次撤走資金。 雖然香港在1970年 土的出口佔了GDP 53.5%，可是到了 2015年， 土出口只佔 1.95%。那我們可以想像，要是失 去了進出口貿易（GDP的23.4%）以及自由行來旅遊的消費 （GDP的 5%），那香港該是靠什麼維持生計呢？香港區全 國人大代表張德江曾說過，香港今時今日的地位“不是靠 搞街頭政治出名的“，而是通過我們的經濟能力。要是我 們失去了這優勢的話，我們這城市的地位也該如何是好？ 坦白說一句，要是中國把香港經濟封鎖的話，港獨就已經 不能夠實施。說到軍隊，港獨就更加不能實行。香港根 就毫無軍力，現在也是靠內地駐守的解放軍，香港的男生 才不用去當兵。你現在可能認為我是一個「親中」的市 民。可是大家錯了，比起「愛國」，我更加「愛港」。可 是比起港獨，我更希望香港能夠繁榮穩定地發展下去。
支持「港獨」的人士往往高估了香港的生產及人力資 ， 而低估了內地對香港的影響力。市民常忽略的事實就是香
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The State of Youtube By Nicole Yip
Youtube isn’t, and never was, devoid of controversy; however, the current state of Youtube leaves many wondering about how creators, viewers, and corporate Youtube can ever coexist in peace. As a social media platform on a relatively new domain (the internet), Youtube has become a microcosm where important discussions about censorship and creativity have played out. Each decision made, in its own right, becomes a precedent set under the timid beginnings of an era that is, without a doubt, internet-centric. The most prominent issue that perpetually plagues the site is the funding of its creators. Many creatives have flocked to Youtube as a platform that can provide for them, as it seems like everyone has an equal chance of success. The payouts that they actually receive may not exceed, or even reach their expectations, however, as it is well known that creators are often underfunded, leading to the need for platforms like Patreon, a website created with the intent of allowing creators to take control over revenue from subscribed viewers. Patreon prides itself in negating the need for a ‘middleman’ and its transparency between viewers and creators. The creator can choose whether to accept funds per video or per month and fans choose the maximum amount they would like to pledge per month. The combined effort/amount is then displayed on the creator’s page. The sheer necessity for Patreon’s existence is deeply rooted in the fact that even now, content creators are not properly compensated for their time and effort. Youtube takes in almost all of the ad revenue and distributes little to their content creators, which makes it difficult for smaller scale creators to survive on that income alone. In addition, the algorithm that promotes certain channels have been subject to scrutiny and criticism. Some time ago, the algorithm favoured longer videos that that were uploaded as frequently as possible. This was disadvantageous to many channels, especially animation artists. The amount of time and effort needed to produce an animated short of a couple of minutes would takes weeks, even months, and the hard work would often be “wasted” as it would not be favourable in the eyes of that algorithm. Another algorithm change saw the arrival of selective promotion of “cleaner” channels. Videos with deemed “inappropriate” tags such as “rape” or “murder” would not be promoted, all without regard to the actual content of the video. In addition, an update introduced around the same time caused many viewers to not be notified of their subscribed channels updates and new releases, resulting in a severe drop in views, and consequently revenue, for many channels. In the world of Youtube, there is an undoubtedly significant discrepancy between creative freedom and monetary compensation. Even more troubling, a Wall Street Journal article pointed out the fact that Youtube was allowing the monetisation of demerit videos. The aftermath? Videos with offensive content had ads pulled by companies such as Coca-Cola, Amazon, and Microsoft. This probes the question of whether Youtube should be a space that creates incentive to allow people of all opinions to
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congregate and share videos or a space where, justifiably, some content hierarchy must be assumed in order to please those who are providing the funds. The implications of this would be far reaching. The internet is highly regarded as a platform on which opinions and content of all varying forms are present and provided, but the inevitably encroaching of companies capitalising on the ease of reaching such a large audience and imposing new regulations is leading to the fear of censorship and losing what little freedom some have left. Youtube celebrity Ethan Klein, one half of the infamous channel h3h3productions, is known for his investigative quirks, and he put the Wall Street Journal on blast when the news came to light. He accused the author of the article, Jack Nicas, of doctoring a screenshot showing a video called “Alabama N******” with a coke ad displayed on the video play screen. His reasoning for believing that the photo was doctored was firstly because of the similarities in view counts of all the photos shown on Nicas’ twitter, and secondly because he interviewed the channel that created the “Alabama N******” video, and the creator stated that the channel Gulagbear has not received ad revenue from that video in a while, indicating the impossibility of the coke ad being shown before the video. Klein’s millions of fans and fellow Youtuber celebrities rallied against the Wall Street Journal, many declaring the Wall Street Journal as a perpetrator of false news. After some time, however, fans pointed out to Klein that the reason why Gulagbear hasn’t received revenue in a long time is due to the fact that the video was claimed by another channel that created the soundtrack to the video. This, and a plethora of other evidence led to Klein making his original video private and issuing an apology. The monetisation of videos is clearly a sensitive issue, with many depending on it, as it is their livelihood. Should certain creators be offered more opportunities than others due to their ideological alignment? Should the sacrifice of creative freedom just be a necessary part of traversing the internet? More and more questions are raised the deeper you look into the issue. Is YouTube on it’s way out? Probably not. The sheer, long-standing standing status of the site has made it the video sharing platform— without it, content creators wouldn’t have an effective platform to reach consumers. Other video sharing sites, such as the ill-fated Vessel, have tried to act as viable alternatives, but none of them have even come close to threatening a brand as big as YouTube. For the most part, if you’re a video creator and you don’t upload to YouTube, you’re not going to have an audience at all. Content creators are for better or worse, shackled to YouTube. Consumers are afraid that their favourite video personalities might have to censor themselves, effectively limiting their creative freedom, and content creators worry about whether or not their videos will be able to both satisfy YouTube’s vague content guidelines and appeal to their fanbase— it’s a fine line to balance, and it’s incredibly hard to do so. In a generation that is obsessed with authenticity, YouTube just might be losing it’s edge as it moves towards an increasingly sterilized library of content.
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漢基的共融學習 Connected Learning By Stephanie Wu 共融學習是漢基自去年發起的一項活動，旨在為有意孵化自己項目的學 生提供支援，幫助他們把想法轉化為現實。共融學習的成員每星期都會 聚在一起分享各自項目的最新成果，而每個星期也都會有感興趣的家長 和校友前來了解學生們的項目。這些項目包括魚菜共生的水耕農場、二 手書買賣平台、社會服務配對平台、以及我的青少年線上心理咨詢平 台；雖然大家有很多不同的想法，卻都希望能通過科技來解決生活中現 有的問題。除此之外，共融學習也先後舉辦了一系列科技界成功人士與 在科技公司任職的校友的訪談，與同學們分享他們的創業故事：從募集 資金到找合夥人，其中當然少不了坎坷與心酸、汗水與眼淚，但是心中 堅持的夢想最終使他們創造出成功的事業。每次聽完嘉賓們的分享我都 不禁覺得只要有做一件事的決心，就會有無論如何也要想儘一切辦法把 這件事做成的毅力。
今天的香港，在科技創新產業上不得不承認是相對落後的。但值得慶幸 的是，近年越來越多的年輕人加入了創業的行列，這也令共融學習一直 所強調的企業家精神顯得更加重要。我特別敬佩那些跟我們分享他們創 業的故事的嘉賓。創業 身就是一個高風險又極具挑戰性的過程，而且 充滿了不確定性，在公司裡做的人，腳下走著公司規劃好的路，但創業 者必須自己為自己的夢想開拓道路。學生們現在的項目雖然離創業還很 遠，但無疑是朝這個方向邁出了第一步。就在去年的一月份，我和共融 學習的其他成員來到了香港科學園，向香港應用科技研究院的董事會一 一介紹了他們的項目，在得到肯定之餘也親身嘗試了向別人推銷自己的 項目的寶貴經歷。
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我個人認為共融學習最吸引我的地方就是它推動我們為周圍的世界帶來 小小的改變。最近香港接二連三地發生學生跳樓自殺的事件，短短十七 天裡就發生了五次。雖然很多學校會為學生提供心理方面的支援，但數 據證明，多達60%的學生曾經感到過焦慮，於是我便想到，為何不讓學 生們互幫互助、走出這種焦慮的狀態呢？現在的青少年會花很多時間在 網絡上，而香港目前卻沒有網上的心理咨詢平台，於是我便希望能夠從 小規模開始來創造一個。我的線上平台的概念是通過青少年來擔任朋輩 輔導員並傾聽其他青少年生活中所遇到的難題，由此組成一個強大的傾 聽網絡，不僅比傳統的心理咨詢更快捷，而且所有的咨詢都是以匿名的 形式進行。我真心希望心理健康能夠越來越得到重視。 總括來說，在有共融學習的這兩年裡，漢基時刻感受著創新思維所併發 出的火花。
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86 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
回到夢中
by Ciara Liu
“喂,請問是誰?” “是我。” “啊,是你啊,都三點多了,有事嗎?” “不好意思,這麼晚打擾你,但是我想 跟你說,我想去了解過去,我認為是時 候了。“ 電話的另一都沉默了一會 兒,之後她開口說道:“好的,我們明天 晚上見一面吧。“ 第二天下班後,我 們在經常碰面的酒吧會合,一同走了進 去。她點了一杯百利甜酒,加了一點牛 奶。“我今天不想喝太烈的酒,不想太 醉。” 她喃喃睇嘟囔了一句,好像是 在對自己說。我點了一杯黑啤,因為平 時都不怎麼喝酒,酒量很小,所以只能 喝一杯啤酒。“我想去了解原來的真 相了,我覺得是時候了。但是有件事我 一直很困惑,你為什麼想要我了解十多 年前的事?”我坦白地說。她看了看 我,抿了一口酒,放下酒杯然後說道,“ 我喜歡你。”她的直口而言實在讓我 嚇 了一跳,沒有等我緩過來勁兒她又 接著說:“ 我想你也是這個想法,但是 你心中如果有這樣一道牆,沒有打破無 法釋懷你就永遠不會有新的開始,我們 也不會有任何結果。所以我希望你可 以去 了解過去的真相,解開心結。” 我聽完之後終於明白了她的用意,握住 了她放在吧台上的手,輕 輕摩砂,平靜 的說:“好的,我知道了,你等我。”
當天的晚上,我找到了靜子的電話和 她生前的家庭住址,翌日打好行李來 到了她的老家橫 濱並找到了她的家。 門鈴響了三次後有一位老人開了門,應 該是靜子的母親,我恭敬地說道:“ 您 好,請問是織雪家嗎?我是立花純,靜子
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大學時交往的人,我有些事想問一問 您。” 一聽到靜 子的名字,老人顫抖 了一下,手從門把上滑落了下來,之後 很快恢復了常態。 她熱情的邀請我 進 到房間裡,並給我沏了杯熱茶然後 坐在了我的旁邊。老人要求我講一講 女兒生前最後幾年的生活 ,於是我便 將自己能記起的與靜子在一起的每一 段時光都講給了老人聽,她邊聽邊用手 拭去臉上 的淚水,另一只手緊緊地我 著我的手。當我給她講完之後,有很久 她都沈默不語,之後忽然跟我 說:“鏡 子在電話中很多次的提起你,她說她真 的很愛你,她幸福的跟我講她好像終於 找到了寄託 一生的人,但是誰都沒有 想到,這樣的事情竟然然發生了。”老 人邊哭邊說著,我的眼眶也濕潤 了,仰 著頭掙扎著不讓眼淚流出來。鎮定後, 我開始問老人自己在心中藏了很久的 問題:“ 您有 任何線索她為甚麼自殺 嗎?” “對不起,我完全沒有。”我想 了想又接著問:“ 那您有沒有靜子的 遺 物,我可不可以借看一下?”老人抬 起頭,擦乾眼淚,“有,當然有。” 說 完起身走進房間,一會兒 又走了出來, 手中拿著一個大紙箱子。她將箱子打 開,裡面有著靜子的衣物首飾和一些照 片,我 翻了又翻,突然在一件衣服的 兜裏找出了一張折得很皺的醫院證明 單。我顫抖的手慢慢打開了那 個單 子,是離學校不遠的東京都立松澤醫院 神經科的病單,上面明確的寫著鏡子的 病情,她患有 重度抑鬱症,輕微感情性 精神障礙和輕微雙重人格障礙因此經 常會有間歇性失憶和幻覺,還時常 有 自殺的想法。因此每週要去醫院三次 做心理輔導,每天晚上服藥注射才會
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避免病情發作。這些 我都不 知道,我緊握著手中的診單,跪 在了地上。自己最愛的人變成 了這樣而自己卻絲毫不知情 , 這時的我任眼淚和罪責侵襲自 己。
拜訪完靜子母親的第二天,我立 刻趕往靜子原來就診的醫院,找 到了十多年前看護她的醫 生和 護士,從他們口中打聽到原來就 在她和我分手的前一天因為趕 論文的原因忘記了吃藥,之後 晚上睡覺時驚醒,產生幻覺,認 為自己目睹了我和另一個女人 走在一起,和另一個女人接吻並 一 同進入了一家酒店。她對此 堅信不疑,於是第二天就提出了 分手,之後她來到醫院做了做」 最後 一次心理咨詢,向治療她 的醫師講述了自己的經歷。但 是不管醫生怎麼告訴她那是假 的,只是幻 覺她都不相信,最後 因為抑鬱症,和原有的其他幾個 精神上的疾病一同爆發並帶出 了精神分裂從 而自殺身亡。我 聽著這些話,每一個字都在顫動 著我的心,“這就是為甚麼這幾 天我做了三次可以 記得的惡 夢,我死了三次,每次都有你在, 而每次你都在夢裡殺了我。“ 我心中這樣想的。 那天 晚上, 回到家後我痛哭自責了一夜。
清晨的到來使我好像如夢初醒
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般,我站起身,直了直僵了的雙 腿。拭去眼角的最後一滴淚 , 拿起茶几上的手機撥打了薩拉 的電話。“我已經整理好了,可 以見一面嗎?” “好的,老地方 老時 間。“ 我們掛斷了電話, 我手握著手機抬頭看了看清晨 無雲的天空,心中好像一塊沉重 的石頭被 離地拔起,輕鬆了許 多。知道了真相,哭過絕望過 之後換來的是 來的可能和希 望。我抓起公文 包拿起外套出 門了。
晚上來臨的很快,我在酒吧籤幽 靜的小道上碰到了薩拉,兩人一 同進到了裏面。她還是點了上 回見面時喝的百利甜酒但是這 回加了些蘇打。我還是老樣子, 一杯黑啤。我將事情的來龍去 買講給了她聽,她一直微笑這看 著我,彷彿在聽我講一個童話故 事一樣。講完之後,我認真地對 她說:“我認為過去的一切已經 過去了,我沒有能力改變它也不 想被它束縛。我希望和你展開 一段新的戀情並有一個新的開 始,我會盡力縮短我們之間的距 離,可能現在還有點難,但是我 相信我們可以一同克服這一切, 希望你能回應我的感情。“ 我 直言說出了自己的想法,她看了 看我,撲哧的笑了,“ 好的,那 我答應你。”我抱住了她纖細 的腰,將她摟在懷裡,撫摸著她, 她推開我,戲弄地用食指膜摸
著我的鼻尖輕聲說說:“這裡不 行。”我也笑了,“那我們換個 地方?”“好啊......” 雖然 我還不能確定自己現在到底能 不能擺脫過去給自己留下的陰 影,但是自從知道了真相後我便 開始相信自己還是有可能幸福 的,就如同我懷中熟睡的這個女 人一樣,我也可以有人疼愛 ,相信愛情。
雖然你在夢中冷血地殺死了我 三次,但是我相信這只是你要放 我自由,解除對我束縛的方 法,謝謝你,靜子。
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88 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
An Inquiry on Intelligence
By Curtis Lo | Photography by Colin Huang Intelligence, or lack thereof, has always been a motif in my life. Whether that be the hopeless absence of it, or the endless pursuit of it, its shadow has driven me forward and held me back; both motivated me, and haunted me. It’s played many roles in my life—it was the key to more eights and less sevens, the rite of passage to schools and classes, my justification to not play sports, even my excuse to write this article. Yet with the seemingly overwhelming precedence of intelligence in my life, I find myself failing to define it. I once asked my friends what it meant to be intelligent, to which some responded with “The Quality of Being Smart”, while some threw in remarks on cognitive ability. Often when the topic of intelligence arises among our discussions, some might even reference
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the intelligence quotient, whereas others tend to simply use grades as a metric. I realised how society labels its individuals as “smart”, perhaps due to a use of a four-syllable word, while others can also be deprived of this label for being in Math Standard. I have found that these measures have truly seeped into our skin, and are arguably, overly numerical and standardized. But are these numbers and tests truly indicative of intelligence, when psychologists are still grasping straws when it comes to the human brain? I believe intelligence is a much broader and much more complex object to define, and that it has a much lesser capability to be measured than modern usages or IQ tests allow it to be.
Often times in our school, I find both the misuse of the term “intelligence” and the misrepresentation of “intelligent people”. I recall one day as the clocks on our phones neared one forty-five and the prospect of period six dawned on the school, the buzz of the cafeteria slowly died down, only the voices of my friends being left to echo across the wooden tables. As the nerdy troupe of self-proclaimed intellectuals we are, the latest math test naturally took precedent as the topic of discussion. Before I knew it, our discussion devolved into a ramble about who was smarter. It was much like a pack of apes trying to establish dominance, via the effective slinging of “8”s for every subject, in every direction.
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89 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 These treasured “8”s are bestowed upon us through assessments, yet all of our assessments fail to take into account many other integral parts of our intelligence, namely qualities such as emotional intelligence, wisdom, common sense, which are all (at best) alluded to in our rubrics. Even creativity is only arbitrarily defined, often forced into vague terms and phrases subjective to the teacher. Furthermore, the act of getting good grades depends on our ability to do tedious busywork and copy material repetitively. Too many classes teach pointless terminology that will become outdated soon enough. And memory is merely one of many aspects that form intelligence. Eventually, the small arms fire of academic achievement will evolve into the artillery that is the intelligence quotient. But even the most devoted
rather than seeing intelligence as dominated by a single general ability. This theory suggests that intelligence is comprised of eight components: linguistic, logic-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Gardner is even informally considering an additional two of these intelligences: existential and pedagogical. Let us engage in a brief explanation of said theory. The theory of cognitive styles suggests that people’s intelligence can be classified as three branches. These branches being the three branches of government: One, legislative people (who like to build new structures and create their own rules along the way), two, executive people (the rule followers who like to be given
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methods of measuring intelligence struggle to grasp it. The IQ test and its many variations has been used to measure one’s intelligence since its first conception in 1912, by German scientist William Stern. However, recent studies have shown that these IQ tests are misleading, purely because they do not reflect intelligence. The study pointed to the fact that the bare minimum of three different metrics are required to measure one’s brainpower. The researchers showed that different circuits within the brain were used for different thought processes, meaning that separate tests of short-term memory, reasoning and verbal skills are needed in order to measure someone’s overall intelligence. Dr. Roger Highfield, columnist of the Telegraph and one of the study’s authors, said: “When you come to the most complex known object, the human brain, the idea that
a predetermined structure in which to work) and three, judicial people (who like to evaluate rules and procedures, who only analyze a given structure). The levels of mental self-government are local and global. The local style focuses on more specific and concrete problems— extreme cases where one “can’t see the forest for the trees”, for example. The global style, in comparison, focuses on more abstract and global problems, where one “can’t see the trees for the forest”. These two scopes of mental self-government are internal and external. The internal style details an inwards focus and a preference to work independently. The external style focuses outwards and a preference to work collaboratively, not unlike the differences between introversion and extroversion.
there is only one measure of intelligence had to be wrong.” For example, creativity, emotional sensitivity, social understanding, and various acquired skills in the music and arts are excluded from test’s measurements of intelligence. To try to mesh all areas of the human brain, into a single number, can therefore be perceived as a gross oversimplification. The definition of intelligence is a complicated thing, but most modern psychologists agree that it cannot be measured on a single scale, whether that be grades or IQ. Developmental psychologist Howard Gardner suggested the theory of multiple intelligences, which maintains that intelligence could be differentiated into different “modalities”...
Many descriptions of intelligence and the way society assesses it, whether that be through academic achievement or the intelligence quotient, focus too much on vocabulary, comprehension, memory, and problem-solving. This way of defining intelligence narrows down the complexity of intelligence to whether or not one is “book-smart”, or “school-smart”, and mislabels people who are creative, musical, or otherwise as “unintelligent”. In our reality where intelligence is in fact, much more multifaceted and complex then we might think, I invite you to think of how to challenge society’s ever-generalized perceptions, and its inquiry of intelligence.
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90 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
Roots and Shoots by Sofia Chon | photography by Xavier Banson When I was six years old, my grandfather took me to his backyard, where sitting in a little corner was an array of herb bushes. Some were tall, scraggly, leafy, bushy. Some were sprawled out, and some adopted a more rigid structure - immovable and tidy. “This is rosemary”, he said, as he plucked a thin, pine-like leaf off the woody plant. Rubbing his fingers over its surface, he stared at it with a sense of familiarity and pride. He raised his freshly scented fingers up to his nose and breathed in. Unmoved, I began to question what he was doing and why he enjoyed it so much. I picked off a leaf and took a whiff myself. My initial thought? ‘mmmm, smells like chicken!’. I then reached for another… and another ….and another. Slowly yet surely, the cupped palm of my six-year old self brimmed with leaves of all sizes, shapes and scents. My mind was overcome by thoughts of food. I returned to Hong Kong notably eager to replicate this experience. My gardening ventures started small. In a shallow four inch pot, I stuck some seeds into soil and waited. Little did I know the seeds I chose were difficult to germinate and maintain in their early stages of life. My naivety and inexperience perpetuated this oblivion, so I continued my watersun-wait routine. In thyme (haha!), the plant grew four small branches no bigger than my middle finger. I snipped
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these off and gave them to my mother to cook… Perhaps that’s why the plant died. Yet, in my ill-fated attempt to keep it alive, I relished in its scent of chicken and the minute assistance I provided my mother in the kitchen. I could never have enough seeds. In moments of sudden interest, the kitchen facilitated my ‘daredevil adventures’. I would rummage through our cupboards in search for a piece of garlic, onion, beans - anything that could grow. But these ventures were met with a multitude of failures. No, I did not grow garlic, onions and beans. My impatience had reaped what it sowed - a composition of half-grown plants, overwatered seedlings, and a growing stack of abandoned pots. By the time I reached secondary, the practice had lost its appeal. But there was one shaking memory. In Year 4, I joined my primary school’s gardening club. The ten of us comparably inexperienced children were well handled by our teacher, who taught us how to grow spinach, rocket, potatoes and more. I recall growing the potatoes from start to finish. On day one, our teacher whipped out a grotesque potato dotted in small sprouts (known as eyes) from her drawer. We planted these at the bottom of a bucket. As the plants grew, we covered the sprouts ...
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...the revival of a gardening club at CIS became a feat I pondered and hoped to achieve...
... with soil, cradling it in darkness - a rather surprising way of gardening! And on our last day, we yanked the plant out, dug our hands into the dirt, and tenaciously searched for the lumpy treasures. Washed, boiled, drenched in butter and salt, the potatoes were devoured by the kids who thrived on the simple pleasure of reaping their hard work. A couple years ago, the concept of “farm to table” had been hammered into my knowledge of gardening. What was once practiced for the love of observation, nurturance and growth started to knot in practical intentions. Reminiscent of all my successes, I painted pictures explaining why I loved
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gardening so much: You get to grow, touch and taste your efforts. In this meditation, the revival of a gardening club at CIS became a feat I pondered and hoped to achieve. Lo and behold, the CIS Roots and Shoots Club was my window of opportunity. The CIS Roots & Shoots Club was launched in September 2016 by myself, Ben Chan (Y12), Mr Curran and Mr Cameron. We recruited eight children from years 4 to 6, each of whom were crucial to our hotchpotch of a team. There were the super-super-super keen waterers, the tame seedling transporters, our one bell-pepper chomper, and children who just loved to get their
hands dirty. A typical session looked like this: In one corner, two kids would turn on the hose and watch the gushing water pour over the nape of their watering cans, unsure of the right time to stop. Another couple gripped onto the watering cans tight, while others would frolic around in their soil-stained shirts, frantically waving their hands as they screamed “I got one! I got one!” upon the discovery of their three-inch potatoes. Such were the ways of the CIS Roots and Shoots family— messy, confused, and chaotic in the best way possible.
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It took us a couple of months to pick up pace: We encountered numerous difficulties, such as seedlings that grew at an extraordinarily slow rate, hot climate and tending our plants in the midst of multiple school breaks. Despite the discouraging start, the students maintained their passionate readiness. For instance, each activity was met with an interminable questioning session. Our favourite questions included “is this poisonous?” and “can I take this home?”. The geeky
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farm-like exclamations on how big the radishes were, or how much the plants had grown were no exception to their quirkiness. Eventually, our efforts reaped results. A month before Christmas break, the children sowed radish seeds, lettuce seeds and potatoes. They were exhaustively tended to: The plants received daily check ups, waterings, and weekly maintenance. We came back from the break with two sessions left — sessions
that really captured the spirit of the program. The first of these two sessions revolved around the radishes. In total, over fifty radishes were harvested, many of which were distributed among the children to take home. The radishes were humorously eccentric in every manner - their unconventional appearance, their pungency and their comparably short life cycles.
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The radishes were humorously eccentric in every manner ... “Why were they humorous?” you ask. These highly flawed radishes became the trademark of our first success. We relished in their bulky, cylindrical appearance, and their pink-to-white gradient. We confused ourselves with how short it took to grow a 3 inch radish compared to a 3-inch basil plant. And their taste; Take a bite into one, and you would undoubtedly smile, laugh or cry. Smile, because you knew where it came from, and laugh, because you would not know what to feel — was it a success? Or failure? And cry, because it tasted SPICY.
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The radishes we loved so much were characterised by so many imperfections! They were a product of inexperience (myself included), and consequent persistence and curiosity. During our last session, we staged a make-do picnic. The children handpicked two trays of lettuce — just enough to feed the ten of us. As the kids spooned the leaves into their mouths, their eyebrows raised and their eyes gleamed. Out of all our activities, the moment they took their first bite was by far the quietest— and then suddenly, “mmmmmm!”s rung
out from all over the picnic cloth, and cheeky grins erupted from their faces. The rest of the session was characterised by dining room chatter, but instead of “can you pass the salt”, we had “can you pass the dressing?” Imbued by their satisfaction and relentless enthusiasm, I became the year 4 version of myself once more. I remembered the time my teacher carried out the bowl of tiny potatoes, steam rising and clouding her face. I remembered my first bite into those yellow treasures, the ones that oozed out butter and melted in my mouth.
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Emotions in rap
by gabriel lee
“Murderous material made by a madman / It’s the mic wrecker, Inspectah, bad man” is how the infamous verse on Wu Tang: 7th Chamber begins, with Inspectah Deck’s gruff inflection leading the fullmetal slug of a track. The legendary album Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers is no doubt the pinnacle of 1990s rap, embodying the braggadocio and grit of the genre. With various showstoppers such as Tupac and Dr. Dre dominating the radio waves, the common themes of the masculine alpha male within society was one that echoed throughout each song. Soon after, the pop culture landscape shifted to an appreciation of the songs that were being produced, and hip hop earned the unholy title of ‘gangsta rap’. The generalization of a cultural movement that spoke of the African American struggle and frustrations with the government was restrained to one negative connotation. This stereotype was then unjustly
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forced on African American males, furthering the systemic knot that was tightening year after year by the chokehold of minority suppression. However, there would soon be a new perspective placed onto the genre. With the beginnings of the 21st Century, a fairly unknown rapper by the name of Marshall Mathers released the Marshall Mathers LP, a full on emotional onslaught that brought an unknown feeling to the genre: vulnerability. Before this album, rappers seldom spoke of their insecurities, much less making them the nucleus of an entire project. What Eminem brought to the table were personal, horrific stories that included his mother and his estranged wife. “They said I can’t rap about being broke no more / F*ck with me, I been through Hell” were amongst some of the grief stricken, emotional lyrics on Kill You. Although themes of brutality were
not uncommon in the genre, Eminem added a new layer of self deprecation, parodying the tag of ‘white trash’. Hip Hop was again undergoing a gigantic change, with the persona of masculinity and bravado being further deconstructed. For once, the subject matter deviated from the constant need to boast material wealth, and delved into more intricate matters of the human subconscious. With the 2000s coming to a close, there were the obvious champions of the tried and tested ‘club’ sound- 50 Cent and Ludacris leading the way with anthems such as ‘In Da Club’ or ‘Get Back’. These songs featured a simple thumping bassline, with boom bap drums present, accompanied with a stickling chorus, seemed to be the winning formula of the next twenty years.
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95 | Xiao Hua Issue 16 Contrary to the assumption that the general public was going to be fed the same formulaic sound, the amount of innovators in hip hop were slowly trying to breakthrough with new experimental techniques were few but important nonetheless. Kanye West, who commenced an original gospel leaning ‘chipmunk soul’ sound with his breakthrough project The College Dropout in 2004, sought another way of bringing in a different perspective to the machismo leaning landscape of rap. With his 2007 album Graduation, West sought to destroy the conventions of gangsta rap, and pitted his album right against the kingpin of the genre, with 50 Cent’s Curtis on the other side of the ring. When September 11th finally came,
Graduation sold 957,000 units, dusting away Curtis by 266,000 units. The audience had decided. A new sound was needed in the dated themes of hip hop, and the embrace for new sounds was born. Graduation did not obey the established rules in making a traditional rap album, instead West drew inspiration from Elton John, Steely Dan, and even French electronic duo Daft Punk to create a beautiful album that had elements of Pop, R&B and even Electronic music. West’s smorgasbord of influences culminated in one of the rapper’s more personal works, with subject matters ranging from the reflections on fame to an ode to his hometown of Chicago. 2007 was the year that ‘gangsta rap’ died, and more and more artists fought against the stereotype that was unfairly reducing
them to nightclub soundtrack providers. Kanye West may have changed the environment for hip hop in 2007 with Graduation, but his most emotionally visceral work was yet to come. On January 10th, a year later, West’s mother Donda died of a sudden heart disease following breast reduction surgery. The news left West shellshocked, even blaming his move to Los Angeles as the cause of her death. West soon found himself locked in a studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, experimenting yet again with a new technology: Auto-tune. Prior to recording, West sought the help of autotune veteran T-Pain, who introduced a concept of using it in lead vocals on the entire album.
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...hip hop has progressed to a stage where rappers are not limited to production styles...
This made the listening experience of the album innovative, as West poured his heart out onto the record dealing with his mother’s passing and his breakup with then girlfriend Alexis Phifer. The album contained West’s most personal work yet, with lyrics on songs such as Heartless lamenting the loss of love: “In the night I hear them talk / The coldest story ever told / Somewhere far along this road / He lost his soul / To a woman so heartless”. The additional feature of Kid Cudi on the album only added to the album’s despondent and grief stricken mood, which culminated in West’s pop masterpiece. 808s and Heartbreak has
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been a constant source of inspiration for artists since its inception, with The Weeknd even stating it as a life changing album. West’s robotic masterpiece delivered his faltering sense of hope through a transfusion of production and mechanics, becoming the defining emotional centerpiece of his career. In 2017, the genre of hip hop has progressed to a stage where rappers are not limited to production styles. Drake can deliver a project influenced by sounds of the UK, with Afrobeat and Dancehall pulsing through More Life. Rising artists such as Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert bring an Autotune driven experi-
”
ence throughout their catalogues, the former offering a ‘bubblegum trap’ sound, with bouncing hi hats and joyful, bubbling production, whilst the other has “All my friends are dead / Push me to the edge” as one of his signature hooks. There are no barriers in the genre, but none of this would have been possible without the major contributions in the earlier 21st century that erased the ‘gangsta rap’ label from hip hop, encouraging self expression and acceptance of other identities aside from the drug dealing caricature. After all, what’s more ‘gangster’ than Young Thug, a reigning symbol of the genre, donning a dress for his album cover?
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小學 鋼琴比賽
胡同遊
作者：雲天穎
作者：劉亦眉
「你準備好了嗎」媽媽邊走邊問道。「當然啦！我贏過這 麼多場比賽，拿了數不清的獎狀，這種小比賽沒可能輸 的！」我信心十足地回答。
我去過北京幾十次了，每次媽媽說我們要去北京時，我就 會在心裏嘆氣。我已經去過北京好多次，但是主要是探 親，我基 上只去過故宮、頤和園和長城。但是這一次和 以前不一樣。媽媽決定把握這次的機會，帶我四處遊覽一 下。
那天是個鋼琴比賽，我們到達比賽場地後不久，比賽就正 式開始了。評審是一位年輕小姐，我認為她一定是個經驗 不足，比較寬鬆的評判，我應該很容易過關的。 第一位參賽者走上台開始演奏，當琴聲從她指尖傳出來 時，原 漫不經心的我不禁大吃一驚，她彈奏的曲子時而 優美時而悲傷，大家都被她的琴聲吸引住了。聽著聽著， 我不自覺地緊張了起來，手心直冒汗。 突然，我聽到裁判喊我的名字。我不知所措地站起來，看 了媽媽一眼，她正微笑地看著我，等我上台。我愣了一會 兒，神色慌張地走到台上，開始演奏我今天的曲目。我彈 的原 應該是一首輕快的曲子，不知為什麼，變成了一首 又慢又長的曲子。我彈到一半，忽然腦中一片空白，停了 下來，過了好一會兒才想起該怎麼彈。我感覺台下的觀眾 似乎都替我捏了一把冷汗。我面紅耳赤，勉強繼續彈下 去。好不容易彈玩樂，我衝到台下，鑽進了媽媽的懷裡。 這是第一次，我兩手空空的回家。我越想越難過，忍不住 嚎啕大哭起來，我邊哭邊說：「真是不公平！真是不公平 啊！」媽媽緊緊地抱著我，輕輕地說：「妳明白了嗎，沒 有人是『獎狀』天才。你不該驕傲，要虛心學習。妳不是 輸了，是妳的心態讓妳失去了獎牌。」我停止了哭泣，慚 愧地點點頭。
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「坐一趟多少錢啊？你可要替我們找個好的導遊，好好兒 介紹一下胡同。我孩子回去還要寫作文呢！」我一聽到媽 媽說這句話就皺起眉頭。媽媽幹嘛要跟這個抽著煙，看起 來髒兮兮的人分享我私人的事？我嘟著嘴跟著媽媽上了三 輪車。 幸好我們的導遊非常有耐心，把胡同裡發生的故事、文化 為我們詳細地解說了一遍。為了聽明白那些有趣的小故 事，我豎起耳朵專心聽著。原來胡同裡的每一個小東西都 有自己的故事。我一邊聽著故事，一邊在狹窄的小巷中穿 梭，雖然兩旁都是灰色的高牆，但我感覺很安全也很高 興。 接著，導遊帶我們去參觀一座四合院。門前的石頭、門墩 上的雕刻都代表了不同的意義，讓人們知道這家主人的社 會地位。現在正值春天，四合院的內院裡，花開得五彩繽 紛，美麗極了。我不禁開始想像，當年在這裡生活的人們 是什麼模樣呢？如果我有這樣一座四合院，我會怎樣佈置 它呢？我轉頭看看媽媽，她臉上也是一付作白日夢的樣 子，我猜想她和我有一樣的想法。 那一天的胡同遊為我打開了通往另一個世界的鎖。我彷彿 看到了一頁頁精彩的歷史在我眼前展開。現在北京的胡同 越來越少了，真可惜！我們要好好保護這些文物，讓我們 的後代能到胡同，有這個美好的學習機會。
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佳作分享 在加拉帕戈斯群島露營 的一晚
沖繩之旅
作者：馬銘澤
上個星期，我們一家去沖繩旅行。
今年聖誕節，我和家人一起去加拉帕戈斯群島旅行。其中 讓我印象最深刻的就是我們坐直升飛機到一個火山口露 營。
一大早從香港，坐了三個小時的飛機，我們終於到了沖 繩。一下飛機，大海的味道撲面而來，看著藍藍的天空和 白白的雲，我的心情一下子好起來，一大早起床的疲倦都 沒有了。
那是一個死火山口，火山口很大。我們進入那個火山口 時，我感到非常興奮，因為我很想體驗在那麼特別的地方 露營的感覺。已進入火山口，我看到了很多隻加拉帕戈斯 群島特有的巨型烏龜。光是在那個火山口裏，就已經有超 過一萬隻那種巨型烏龜了。巨型烏龜的長度比一隻狼狗還 要長一點，寬度比一個巨型 Pizza 還寬，牠們走路比老 爺爺還走得慢。牠們不是很怕人，因為牠們都是被保護 的。人類也不會來捕捉牠們。所以我拍影片時牠們才敢靠 近我。（附上一張照片吧！） 我們在火山口裏待了幾個小時。別的人去爬山，而我因為 肚子痛留在帳篷裡玩手機。我睡了一會兒，然後爸爸就過 來叫醒了我。他對我說：「威廉，出來一下。」我睡眼惺 忪地爬出帳篷。我看了看周圍，半夜三更地，伸手不見五 指。我正想爬回帳篷裡繼續睡覺，但無意間一抬頭時，我 看見了滿天星斗。當時的星空是我見過最美的。那裡的天 空完全沒有污染，黑漆漆的一片，所以顯得那些星星就像 是3D電影裡的一樣，像鑽石般閃閃發亮。我還看到許多流 星劃過天空呢！
作者：葉晧天
我們坐上車子去酒店，一路上我們看到的是一個安靜平和 的小城市，和香港的繁華熱鬧不一樣。這裡的馬路上沒有 很多車，人們大多會騎自行車或者機車。馬路兩旁沒有高 樓大廈，只有兩三層高的房子。如果說香港是一個鐵鋼巨 人，那沖繩就是安靜的漁夫。 沖繩是一個四面環海的小島，有很多海鮮。這一次，我們 吃的是有「危險美食」之稱的河豚。第一次看到活的河豚 是在沖繩的活魚市場，牠們看上去就像是普通的魚一樣， 可是當牠們害怕的時候就像是充了氣的皮球一般，變得圓 滾滾的。河豚有毒，一條河豚的毒可以殺死三十三個人。 我們一家人吃河豚的時候，我哥哥和妹妹都大叫：「這太 危險了，我不要吃！」我冒著生命危險，硬著頭皮吃了幾 口，覺得像在咬一塊鹹鹹的橡皮糖，我不太喜歡吃。 我喜歡沖繩，我喜歡它的小巧，它的安靜，它的簡樸，我 想我以後一定還會再去。
這次露營是一個我永遠都不會忘記（終生難忘）的體驗。 我也希望我以後能再有機會去加拉帕戈斯群島旅行。 輸了，是妳的心態讓妳失去了獎牌。」我停止了哭泣，慚 愧地點點頭。
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Chandler Kurtz
98 | Xiao Hua Issue 16
By Kevin Ky Photography by Xavier Banson
This school year, CIS has welcomed a new staff member, Mr. Chandler, our certified athletic trainer. He works in the corner around the entrance from the Drama studio above the swimming pool staircase. I’m here to answer the question on everyone’s minds: Who is he? What does he do?
Who is Mr. Chandler?
Mr. Chandler was born and raised in Ohio, Cincinnati. He studied high school and college in Southern Florida, then moved back to Ohio to earn his degree in athletic training. After graduating, his first job was actually at the high school he studied in. He was an athletic trainer for all the sport teams, including a professional division 1 soccer team. His job was quite hectic as he had to deal with student athletes who devoted all their time trying to get scholarships for their specific sport.
What was his previous job?
After only being a trainer, he was then offered a second job to become a part-time teacher. At first, he taught several classes on sport science, then was offered to take up the job of the school’s equivalent of a Service & Action coordinator. However, as time passed, Mr. Chandler felt that there was simply too much on his plate, and he didn’t want to steer away from his passion of being an athletic trainer. At the end of his contract, he was offered an opportunity to become a full-time diploma teacher, but he decided to take another job in China.
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What brought him to Hong Kong, and CIS specifically? After taking up the job in China, he started picking back up his job of being an athletic trainer. After spending a couple years there, he decided to start his own sports medical program, which is what brought him to Hong Kong. When Mr. Chandler was in China he sought to find other schools that were looking for people like him. He stumbled into CIS and realised that we had no medical program in any shape or form. This meant he had the perfect opportunity to start his own program.
What does he do at CIS?
Mr. Chandler spends his time organising the soon-to-become sports medical program. He also spends his time helping injured student athletes recover. His goal is to help facilitate the full recovery in the shortest time possible. However, other than the sports medical side, he spends time sitting in on training sessions and tagging along in away games for various sports. Often times, Mr. Chandler would run the warmup session to help minimize the chance of injury during intensive play.
What are a few things to prevent people from hurting themselves? What precautions should be taken? When asked about how to prevent minor and major injuries, Mr Chandler advised that all students have to do is to simply eat breakfast. What many students (including myself) do not realise is the importance of having three proper meals, everyday. Additionally, in the area of sports, having breakfast means that there is enough energy and nutrition for your body, so that if and when something goes wrong, your body is not completely vulnerable.
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Alex Tan Basketball
PLAYERS Megan Daly Frisbee
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Mark Russell Cross Country Running
TO WATCH By Indya Steains | Photography by Xavier Banson
Yuddy Cheng Horse Riding
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A GUIDE TO HONG KONG’S
When someone mentions Hong Kong, the first image that comes to mind are the skyscrapers and busy streets. I wouldn’t blame them though, Hong Kong is known for it’s high population density and extremely fast paced life. Yet, in the countryside, away from all the chaos and noise, Hong Kong can surprise you with it’s natural beauty. If you’ve never gone hiking in Hong Kong you are missing out on half of the city! There are many reasons why you should consider ditching your computer and take a walk in mother nature. Firstly, Hiking is extremely healthy! Being a moderately-intensive aerobic exercise, it not only increases your energy level, but it also lowers your chance of diabetes and cancer. It sounds too good to be true! Putting aside the many health benefits, I believe that you get the best view of Hong Kong when you’ve reached the top of your hike. Yes, those rooftops and skyscrapers have it’s own charm, but nothing beats witnessing the large contrast between the mountains and the vast city lights. Sometimes it can be hard to motivate yourself to leave your cosy apartment, but give it a try and you’ll never look back.
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HIKING TRAILS
By Ben Tang Photography by Colin Huang
Dragon’s Back: Two of the long-distance trails traverse the island – the Wilson and the 50km Hong Kong Trail – and the S-shaped stretch of the latter, through Shek O Country Park along the Dragon’s Back ridge, is arguably the best section from either. This undulating 8.5km-long hike just a hop from bustling Central has been named the world’s best urban walk, and no wonder: the sightseeing platform on 284m-high Shek O peak provides dramatic vistas of coast and offshore islands, while you’ll also pass paragliders hurling themselves off the ridge. Finish at Shek O village or Big Wave Bay for a dip in the cooling blue sea and a slap-up seafood feast. Lantau Peak: At 934 metres, it’s the second highest peak in Hong Kong and the climb is stunning if, at times, gruelling. It’s a must for any hiker! Every time the ground levels off, you’ll hope you’re almost there… You’re probably not, but you are rewarded with dramatic sweeping slopes where you can see the villages on the South side and the airport to the North as you ascend! If you climb on a cloudy day, you’ll still see some things but there might be a fog at the peak; even if you can’t see miles around, the accomplishment of scaling 934 metres is intoxicating. Violet Hill and the Twins: Got quads of steel? Want quads of steel? Then this hike is for you. This 4.8km stretch will certainly give you street cred for being hardcore. It’s got over one thousand stairs, and boasts some of the most incredible views of Hong Kong. On a clear day it’s hard to beat. Even on a cloudy day it’s not too bad. While you may miss the views, the sense of floating through the mist is pretty special.
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Order of the Phoenix By Justin Ngai | Photography by Ryan Chiao
Order of the Phoenix is a Sports & Activities Advisory Council made up of twelve selected students to serve for two academic years, beginning January of Year 11. The students chosen embody excellent communication and leadership skills, school spirit and involvement in the diverse range of activities they represent. The council works alongside the CIS leadership and community to celebrate sportsmanship and spirit, to uphold school traditions and values, and to instill pride in being a Phoenix. The OTP is a group of diverse individuals that represent different interests and personalities of the school body. These members hail from all areas of CIS, from the orchestra to the cross country team to the literary magazine, each bringing a unique perspective to the table, allowing the OTP to foster a well represented community. The main aim of the group is to encourage and promote school spirit within CIS, which we see as an important aspect of being part of the CIS community beyond academics. Our main works include organizing sports events, such as the student vs teacher basketball game, giving input for the CIS merchandise, and maintaining an active Facebook page that highlights the achievements of students and teachers both in and out of the school. We also organize seasonal awards dinners to recognize and celebrate the efforts and achievements of teams that represent CIS in both local and international competitions, whether it’s sports, music, math, debate, and more. Go Phoenix!
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The CIS Water Polo Team Trainings are led by captains Axel Leven and Cheryl Li on Tuesday mornings. The session consists of the standard drills warm up laps, passing drills, shooting drills, tactic discussion, and the occasional game. Fortunately, the water polo team was invited to participate in the Panasonic 17th HKASA School Invitational Water Polo Championships, held towards the end of 2016. Unfortunately, the tournament consisted of several of the best teams in Hong Kong However, the team was not discouraged by this fact and still played each game with the burning desire to win, placing them seventh out of ten teams. Although the water polo team is now scaling the ladder of water polo fame,
things weren’t always as easy as they are now for the team. Just four years ago there was no water polo team! Unfortunately, the team had troubles receiving proper funding as the sport was not considered a core sport. As a result, despite having trainings at the school pool, using school equipment, the team members were made to pay to participate in the CCA. This payment covered lifeguards fees, pool reservations, and equipment usage. Their lack of funding even made purchasing new goal posts a hassle. Fortunately, after a year or so, the sports department provided the water polo with a partition of the swimming team’s budget to alleviate the burden tossed onto the team. The water polo finally received their long awaited funding, even if it was part of the swimming team’s. By Isaac Um Photography by Ryan Chiao
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SPOT THE EMOJI ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINA SHEN
ANSWERS ON PAGE 110
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FILL IN THE SCHOOL SONG We ___________ to the CIS ________ 學校 The Chinese International School ________ 一堂 We come from the _________ 我們來自 ________ We come from the _________ 我們來自 ________ We __________ from each _________ ________ 學習 And that way is _________ 相得 ________ You’ll know is in our ________ and ________
________ 色的 ________ 是我們的 ____
The CIS will __________ have a
________________ 你朋友和 ________！
____________ for you!
ANSWERS ON PAGE 111
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ALUMNI INTERVIEW
RICHARD DING BY EUGENIA CHOW
To start off: what is your project, and how did you come up with this idea? So I’m working on a startup called Powerplay (formerly sPARK+ Technologies) that aims to produce playground equipment that converts the energy kids create by playing, into electrical energy. The idea is that through a gamified experience, kids can learn more about renewable energy and have a better grasp of how their energy can be used. Right now, our prototype uses that electricity is being used to light LEDs that light faster if more energy is being generated, like a race between two players, and the lights are mounted on like a helix statue while the kids spin discs. We’re going to further this idea with a bigger budget and hopefully make a modular playground station that could be installed in parks in the Boston area. My friend was the one who had the first
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idea for it, and he felt like he needed another engineer to work on it with him. I was honestly really skeptical at first, but decided to work on it and it’s been a really rewarding experience so far.
How do you think placing second in this competition will benefit you in the future? Do you think that your project will continue to expand and possibly become a business? Coming in second in the Tufts 100k was a huge accomplishment for the team. Not only did it give us some legitimacy, that the time we’ve spent building the prototype was actually towards something meaningful, but we also got a huge ton of money 9000usd in cash and 6000usd in legal services from a sponsoring company. Part of the prize also includes a trip
to New York and palo alto, where we have the opportunity to pitch to interested venture capitalists. We also won the Tufts summer accelerator, which means that the team will be able to work on the project and put that money to good use. I definitely hope that people believe in our product and our vision, and absolutely believe that we will be able to make a business out of it.
How do you plan on spending your prize money to develop your project? We’re planning on spending the cash on making our first fully fledged prototype. We’ve made a few prototypes in past competitions that demonstrate design concept, but we’re really aiming to effectively make a fully fledged first product and place it in Boston Commons. We also received a substantial amount of money for legal services,
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which were going to use to patent our product.
At what point did you develop a passion for physics, and how has it shaped you as a person? My interest in physics and engineering started from a pretty young age. As long as I can remember, I loved to play with devices and figure out how they worked, and specifically I had an obsession with vehicles and their design. I’d like to think that my studies in physics and engineering have taught me to think about the world in a more analytical way. Also, as fun as engineering is, it’s also a lot of work and I think it’s made me appreciate free time a lot more!
Have you been involved with other physics related activities in the past,
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whether at CIS or at Tufts? I can’t think of much that I did engineering related at CIS, except for an Extended Essay (EE) on physics. At Tufts, I’ve been involved in the Tufts electric racing team. Each year, we either design a new race car or maintain our current car to take to competition, where we compete against other universities on design targets like speed, endurance etc. I’m actually writing this on the way to the formula sae competition in New Hampshire.
Do you plan on pursuing a career in physics? If so, what? I’m definitely planning on pursuing a career in engineering. Hopefully things with Powerplay pick up; if not I’ve always dreamed of working on cars so I’d say some job in the automotive industry.
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SPOT THE EMOJI (ANSWERS)
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FILL IN THE SCHOOL SONG (ANSWERS)
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We belong to the CIS
漢基學校
The Chinese International School
濟濟一堂
We come from the East
我們來自東方
We come from the West
我們來自西方
We learn from each other
互相學習
And that way is best
相得益彰
You’ll know is in our red and blue
紅藍色的校服是我們的標誌
The CIS will always have a welcome for you!
時刻歡迎你朋友和師長！
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SCAD Leading the World in Creative Education The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) provides specialized art and design education and professional career preparation through locally accredited bachelor's and master's degree programmes focused on student success. SCAD's presence in Hong Kong places students from around the world in closer proximity to a world-class art and design education to prepare them for creative careers.
SCAD Hong Kong offers: 21 art and design programs from a range of 14 majors International student body that broadens horizons via cultural exposure Advanced learning resources Unique opportunity to experience life at SCAD’s other campuses in Savannah, Atlanta and Lacoste Active learning through collaborative projects and internship opportunities with major international and local brands
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s r s s d o
TURN YOUR CREATIVITY INTO A CAREER.
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SCAD Hong Kong courses enhance your creative expression and emphasize the in-demand production skills and techniques necessary for a successful career. Learn more about the university for creative careers. SCHEDULE YOUR VISIT TO SCAD HONG KONG TODAY.
admission_hk@scad.edu 852.2253.8000 scad.edu/hongkong Courses of Study are registered with the Hong Kong Education Bureau, registration numbers: 261958-261971 and 262196-262202. It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognize any qualification to which these courses may lead. XH16.indd 113
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